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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e57c7ea --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #51855 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/51855) diff --git a/old/51855-8.txt b/old/51855-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 29f9462..0000000 --- a/old/51855-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5738 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Slave Planet, by Laurence Janifer - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Slave Planet - -Author: Laurence Janifer - -Release Date: April 24, 2016 [EBook #51855] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SLAVE PLANET *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - - SLAVE PLANET - - _A Science Fiction Novel by_ - - LAURENCE JANIFER - - PYRAMID BOOKS - NEW YORK - - - SLAVE PLANET - - A PYRAMID BOOK - - First printing, March 1963 - - _This book is fiction. No resemblance is intended between - any character herein and any person, living or dead, - any such resemblance it purely coincidental._ - - Copyright 1963, by Pyramid Publications, Inc. - All Rights Reserved - - _Printed in the United States of America_ - - Pyramid Books are published by Pyramid Publications, Inc. - _444 Madison Avenue, New York 22, New York, U.S.A._ - - [Transcriber's Note: Extensive research did not uncover any - evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - * * * * * - - This moral tale is dedicated - To Philip Klass - Who will probably find it disagreeable - But who will think about it: - An occupation as cheering to the writer - As it is rare in the world. - - * * * * * - - - Fruyling's World - -... rich in the metals that kept the Terran Confederation going--one -vital link in a galaxy-wide civilization. But the men of Fruyling's -World lived on borrowed time, knowing that slavery was outlawed -throughout the Confederation--and that only the slave labor of the -reptilian natives could produce the precious metals the Confederation -needed! - -As the first hints of the truth about Fruyling's World emerge, the -tension becomes unbearable--to be resolved only in the shattering -climax of this fast-paced, thought-provoking story of one of today's -most original young writers. - - * * * * * - -"On Saturday, July 30, Dr. Johnson and I took a sculler at the -Temple-stairs, and set out for Greenwich. I asked him if he really -thought a knowledge of the Greek and Latin languages an essential -requisite to a good education. JOHNSON. 'Most certainly, Sir; for -those who know them have a very great advantage over those who do not. -Nay, Sir, it is wonderful what a difference learning makes upon people -even in the common intercourse of life, which does not appear to be -much connected with it.' 'And yet, (said I) people go through the -world very well, and carry on the business of life to good advantage, -without learning.' JOHNSON. 'Why, Sir, that may be true in cases where -learning cannot possibly be of any use; for instance, this boy rows -us as well without learning, as if he could sing the song of Orpheus -to the Argonauts, who were the first sailors.' He then called to the -boy, 'What would you give my lad, to know about the Argonauts?' 'Sir, -(said the boy) I would give what I have.' Johnson was much pleased with -his answer, and we gave him a double fare. Dr. Johnson then turning to -me, 'Sir, (said he) a desire of knowledge is the natural feeling of -mankind; and every human being, whose mind is not debauched, will be -willing to give all that he has, to get knowledge.'" - ---James Boswell, - -_The Life of Samuel Johnson, L. L. D._ - - * * * * * - -"It has become a common catchword that slavery is the product of an -agricultural society and cannot exist in the contemporary, mechanized -world. Like so many catchwords, this one is recognizable as nonsense -as soon as it is closely examined. Given that the upkeep of the slaves -is less than the price of full automation (and _its_ upkeep), I do -not think we shall prove ourselves morally so very superior to our -grandfathers." - ---H. D. Abel, - -_Essays in History and Causation_ - - - - -PART ONE - - - - -1 - - -"I would not repeat myself if it were not for the urgency of this -matter." Dr. Haenlingen's voice hardly echoed in the square small room. -She stood staring out at the forests below, the coiling gray-green -trees, the plants and rough growth. A small woman whose carriage was -always, publicly, stiff and erect, whose iron-gray eyes seemed as -solid as ice, she might years before have trained her voice to sound -improbably flat and formal. Now the formality was dissolving in anger. -"As you know, the mass of citizens throughout the Confederation are a -potential source of explosive difficulty, and our only safety against -such an explosion lies in complete and continuing silence." Abruptly, -she turned away from the window. "Have you got that, Norma?" - -Norma Fredericks nodded, her trace poised over the waiting pad. "Yes, -Dr. Haenlingen. Of course." - -Dr. Haenlingen's laugh was a dry rustle. "Good Lord, girl," she said. -"Are you afraid of me, too?" - -Norma shook her head instantly, then stopped and almost smiled. "I -suppose I am, Doctor," she said. "I don't quite know why--" - -"Authority figure, parent-surrogate, phi factor--there's no mystery -about the why, Norma. If you're content with jargon, and we know -all the jargon, don't we?" Now instead of a laugh it was a smile, -surprisingly warm but very brief. "We ought to, after all; we ladle it -out often enough." - -Norma said: "There's certainly no real reason for fear. I don't want -you to think--" - -"I don't think," Dr. Haenlingen said. "I never think. I reason when I -must, react when I can." She paused. "Sometimes, Norma, it strikes me -that the Psychological Division hasn't really kept track of its own -occupational syndromes." - -"Yes?" Norma waited, a study in polite attention. The trace fell slowly -in her hand to the pad on her knees and rested there. - -"I ask you if you're afraid of me and I get the beginnings of a -self-analysis," Dr. Haenlingen said. She walked three steps to the -desk and sat down behind it, her hands clasped on the surface, her -eyes staring at the younger woman. "If I'd let you go on I suppose you -could have given me a yard and a half of assorted psychiatric jargon, -complete with suggestions for a change in your pattern." - -"I only--" - -"You only reacted the way a good Psychological Division worker is -supposed to react, I imagine." The eyes closed for a second, opened -again. "You know, Norma, I could have dictated this to a tape and had -it sent out automatically. Did you stop to think why I wanted to talk -it out to you?" - -"It's a message to the Confederation," Norma said slowly. "I suppose -it's important, and you wanted--" - -"Importance demands accuracy," Dr. Haenlingen broke in. "Do you think -you can be more accurate than a tape record?" - -A second of silence went by. "I don't know, then," Norma said at last. - -"I wanted reaction," Dr. Haenlingen said. "I wanted somebody's -reaction. But I can't get yours. As far as I can see you're the white -hope of the Psychological Division--but even you are afraid of me, even -you are masking any reaction you might have for fear the terrifying Dr. -Anna Haenlingen won't like it." She paused. "Good Lord, girl, I've got -to know if I'm getting through!" - -Norma took a deep breath. "I'm sorry," she said at last. "I'll try to -give you what you want--" - -"There you go again." Dr. Haenlingen shoved back her chair and stood -up, marched to the window and stared out at the forest again. Below, -the vegetation glowed in the daylight. She shook her head slowly. "How -can you give me what I want when I don't know what I want? I need to -know what _you_ think, how _you_ react. I'm not going to bite your head -off if you do something wrong: there's nothing wrong that you _can_ do. -Except not react at all." - -"I'm sorry," Norma said again. - -Dr. Haenlingen's shoulders moved, up and down. It might have been a -sigh. "Of course you are," she said in a gentler voice. "I'm sorry, -too. It's just that matters aren't getting any better--and one false -move could crack us wide open." - -"I know," Norma said. "You'd think people would understand--" - -"People," Dr. Haenlingen said, "understand very little. That's what -we're here for, Norma: to make them understand a little more. To make -them understand, in fact, what we want them to understand." - -"The truth," Norma said. - -"Of course," Dr. Haenlingen said, almost absently. "The truth." - -This time there was a longer pause. - -"Shall we get on with it, then?" Dr. Haenlingen said. - -"I'm ready," Norma said. "'Complete and continuing silence.'" - -Dr. Haenlingen paused. "What?... Oh. It should be perfectly obvious -that the average Confederation citizen, regardless of his training or -information, would not understand the project under development here -no matter how carefully it was explained to him. The very concepts of -freedom, justice, equality under the law, which form the cornerstone -of Confederation law and, more importantly, Confederation societal -patterns, will prevent him from judging with any real degree of -objectivity our actions on Fruyling's World, or our motives." - -"Actions," Norma muttered. "Motives." The trace flew busily over the -pad, leaving its shorthand trail. - -"It was agreed in the original formation of our project here that -silence and secrecy were essential to the project's continuance. Now, -in the third generation of that project, the wall of silence has been -breached and I have received repeated reports of rumors regarding our -relationship with the natives. The very fact that such rumors exist -is indication enough that an explosive situation is developing. It is -possible for the Confederation to be forced to the wall on this issue, -and this issue alone: I cannot emphasize too strongly the fact that -such a possibility exists. Therefore--" - -"Doctor," Norma said. - -The dictation stopped. Dr. Haenlingen turned slowly. "Yes?" - -"You wanted reactions, didn't you?" Norma said. - -"Well?" The word was not unfriendly. - -Norma hesitated for a second. Then she burst out: "But they're so -far away! I mean--there isn't any reason why they should really -care. They're busy with their own lives, and I don't really see why -whatever's done here should occupy them--" - -"Because you're not seeing them," Dr. Haenlingen said. "Because -you're thinking of the Confederation, not the people who compose the -Confederation, all of the people on Mars, and Venus, the moons and -Earth. The Confederation itself--the government--really doesn't care. -Why should it? But the people do--or would." - -"Oh," Norma said, and then: "Oh. Of course." - -"That's right," Dr. Haenlingen said. "They hear about freedom, and all -the rest, as soon as they're old enough to hear about anything. It's -part of every subject they study in school, it's part of the world they -live in, it's like the air they breathe. They can't question it: they -can't even think about it." - -"And, of course, if they hear about Fruyling's World--" - -"There won't be any way to disguise the fact," Dr. Haenlingen said. "In -the long run, there never is. And the fact will shock them into action. -As long as they continue to live in that air of freedom and justice and -equality under the law, they'll want to stop what we're doing here. -They'll have to." - -"I see," Nonna said. "Of course." - -Dr. Haenlingen, still looking out at the world below, smiled faintly. -"Slavery," she said, "is such an _ugly_ word." - - - - -2 - - -The Commons Room of the Third Building of City One was a large affair, -whose three bare metal walls enclosed more space than any other -single living-quarters room in the Building; but the presence of the -fourth wall made it seem tiny. That wall was nearly all window, a -non-shatterable clear plastic immensely superior to that laboratory -material, glass. It displayed a single unbroken sweep of forty feet, -and it looked down on the forests of Fruyling's World from a height of -sixteen stories. Men new to the Third Building usually sat with their -backs to that enormous window, and even the eldest inhabitants usually -placed their chairs somehow out of line with it, and looked instead at -the walls, at their companions, or at their own hands. - -Fruyling's World was disturbing, and not only because of the choking -profusion of forest that always seemed to threaten the isolated -clusters of human residence. A man could get used to forests. But at -any moment, looking down or out across the gray-green vegetation, that -man might catch sight of a native--an Elder, perhaps heading slowly out -toward the Birth Huts hidden in the lashing trees, or a group of Small -Ones being herded into the Third Building itself for their training. It -was hard, perhaps impossible, to get used to that: when you had to see -the natives you steeled yourself for the job. When you didn't have to -see them you counted yourself lucky and called yourself relaxed. - -It wasn't that the natives were hideous, either. Their very name had -been given to them by men in a kind of affectionate mockery, since -they weren't advanced enough even to have such a group-name of their -own as "the people." They were called Alberts, after a half-forgotten -character in a mistily-remembered comic strip dating back before space -travel, before the true beginnings of Confederation history. If you -ignored the single, Cyclopean eye, the rather musty smell and a few -other even more minor details, they looked rather like two-legged -alligators four feet tall, green as jewels, with hopeful grins on their -faces and an awkward, waddling walk like a penguin's. Seen without -preconceptions they might have been called cute. - -But no man on Fruyling's World could see the Alberts without -preconceptions. They were not Alberts: they were slaves, as the men -were masters. And slavery, named and accepted, has traditionally been -harder on the master than the slave. - -John Dodd, twenty-seven years old, master, part of the third -generation, arranged his chair carefully so that it faced the door of -the Commons Room, letting the light from the great window illumine the -back of his head. He clasped his hands in his lap in a single, nervous -gesture, never noticing that the light gave him a faint saintlike halo -about his feathery hair. His companion took another chair, set it at -right angles to Dodd's and gave it long and thoughtful consideration, -as if the act of sitting down were something new and untried. - -"It's good to be off-duty," Dodd said violently. "Good. Not to have to -see them--not to have to think about them until tomorrow." - -The standing man, shorter than Dodd and built heavily, actually turned -and looked out at the window. "And then tomorrow what do you do?" -he asked. "Give up your job? You're just letting the thing get you, -Johnny." - -"I'd give up my job in twenty seconds if I thought it would do any -good," Dodd said. He shook his head. "I give up a job here in the -Buildings, and then what do I do? Go out and starve in the jungle? -Nobody's done it, nobody's ever done it." - -"Well?" the squat man said. "Is that an excuse?" - -Dodd sighed. "Those who work get fed," he said. "And housed. And -clothed. And--God help us--entertained, by 3D tapes older than our -fathers are. If a man didn't work he'd get--cast out. Cut off." - -"There's more than 3D tapes," the squat man said, and grinned. - -"Sure." Dodd's voice was tired. "But think about it for a minute, -Albin. Do you know what we've got here?" - -"We've got a nice, smooth setup," Albin said. "No worries, no fights, -a job to do and a place to do it in, time to relax, time to have fun. -It's okay." - -There was a little silence. Dodd's voice seemed more distant. "Marxian -economics," he said. "Perfect Marxian economics, on a world that would -make old Karl spin in his grave like an electron." - -"I guess so," Albin said. "History's not my field. But--given the -setup, what else could there be? What other choice have you got?" - -"I don't know." Again a silence. Dodd's hands unclasped: he made -a gesture as if he were sweeping something away from his face. -"There ought to be something else. Even on Earth, even before the -Confederation, there were conscientious objectors." - -"History again," Albin said. He walked a few steps toward the window. -"Anyhow, that was for war." - -"I don't know," Dodd said. His hands went back into his lap, and his -eyes closed. He spoke, now, like a man in a dream. "There used to be -all kinds of jobs. I guess there still are, in the Confederation. On -Earth. Back home where none of us have ever been." He repeated the -words like an echo: "Back home." In the silence nothing interrupted -him: behind his head light poured in from the giant window. "A man -could choose his own job," he went on, in the same tone. "He could be -a factory-worker or a professor or a truck-driver or a musician or--a -lot of jobs. A man didn't have to work at one, whether he wanted to or -not." - -"All right," Albin said. "Okay. So suppose you had your choice. Suppose -every job in every damn history you've ever heard of was open to you. -Just what would you pick? Make a choice. Go ahead, make--" - -"It isn't funny, Albin," Dodd said woodenly. "It isn't a game." - -"Okay, it isn't," Albin said. "So make it a game. Just for a minute. -Think over all the jobs you can and make a choice. You don't like -being here, do you? You don't like working with the Alberts. So where -would you like to be? What would you like to do?" He came back to the -chair, his eyes on Dodd, and sat suddenly down, his elbows on his knees -and his chin cupped in his hands, facing Dodd like a gnome out of -pre-history. "Go on," he said. "Make a choice." - -"Okay," Dodd said without opening his eyes. His voice became more -distant, dreamlike. "Okay," he said again. "I--there isn't one job, -but maybe a kind of job. Something to do with growing things." There -was a pause. "I'd like to work somewhere growing things. I'd like to -work with plants. They're all right, plants. They don't make you feel -anything." The voice stopped. - -"Plants?" Albin hooted gigantically. "Good God, think about it! You're -stuck on a planet that's over seventy per cent plant life--trees and -weeds and jungles all over the land and even mats of green stuff -covering the oceans and riding on the rivers--a planet that's just -about nothing but plants, a king-sized hothouse for every kind of leaf -and blade and flower and fruit you could ever dream up--" - -"It's not the same," Dodd said. - -"You," Albin said, "are out of your head. So if you're crazy for -plants, so grow them in your spare time. If you've got a window in your -room you can put up a window-box. If not, something else. Me, I think -it's damn silly: with the plants all around here, what's the sense of -growing more? But if you like it, God knows Fruyling's World is ready -to provide it for you." - -"As a hobby," Dodd said flatly. - -"Well, then, a hobby," Albin said. "If you're interested in it." - -"Interested." The word was like an echo. A silence fell. Albin's eyes -studied Dodd, the thin face and the play of light on the hair. After a -while he shrugged. - -"So it isn't plants," he said. "It isn't any more than the Alberts -and working with them. You want to do anything to get away from -them--anything that won't remind you you have to go back." - -"Sure," Dodd said. "Sure I do. So do all of us." - -"Not me," Albin said instantly. "Not me, brother. I get my food and -my clothing and my shelter, just like good old Marx, I guess, says I -should. I'm a trainer for the Alberts, supportive work in the refining -process, and some day I'll be a master trainer and get a little more -pay, a little more status, you know?" He grinned and sat straight. -"What the hell," he said "It's a job. It pays my way. And there's -enough leisure time for fun--and when I say fun I don't mean 3D tapes, -Dodd. I really don't." - -"But you--" - -"Look," Albin said. "That's what's wrong with you, kid. You talk as if -we all had nothing to do but work and watch tapes. What you need is a -little education--a little real education--and I'm the one to give it -to you." - -Dodd opened his eyes. They looked very large and flat, like the eyes -of a jungle animal. "I don't need education," he said. "And I don't -need hobbies. I need to get off this planet, that's all. I need to stop -working with the Alberts. I need to stop being a master and start being -a man again." - -Albin sighed. "Slavery," he said. "You think of slavery and it all -rises up in front of you--Greece, India, China, Rome, England, the -United States--all the past before the Confederation, all the different -slaves." He grinned again. "You think it's terrible, don't you?" - -"It is terrible," Dodd said. "It's--they're people, just like us. They -have a right to their own lives." - -"Sure they do," Albin said. "They have the right to--oh, to starve -and die in that forest out there, for instance. And work out a lot -of primitive rituals, and go through all the Stone Age motions for -thousands of years until they develop civilization like you and me. -Instead of being kept nice and warm and comfortable and taken care of, -and taught things, by the evil old bastards like--well, like you and me -again. Right?" - -"They have rights," Dodd said stubbornly. "They have rights of their -own." - -"Sure they do," Albin agreed with great cheerfulness. "How'd you like -it if they got some of them? Dodd, maybe you'd like to see them starve? -Because it's going to be a long, long time before they develop anything -like a solid civilization, kiddo. And in the meantime a lot of them are -going to die of things we can prevent. Right? And how'd you like that, -Dodd? How would you like that?" - -Dodd hesitated. "We ought to help them," he muttered. - -"Well," Albin said cheerfully, "that's what we are doing. Keeping them -alive, for instance. And teaching them." - -"Teaching," Dodd said. Again his voice had the faintly mocking sound of -an echo. "And what are we teaching them? Push this button for us. Watch -this process for us. If anything changes push this button. Dig here. -Carry there." He paused. "Wonderful--for us. But what good does it do -them?" - -"We've got to live, too," Albin said. - -Dodd stared. "At their expense?" - -"It's a living," Albin said casually, shrugging. Then: "But I'm -serious. One good dose of real enjoyment will cure you, friend. One -good dose of fun--by which, kiddo, I mean plain ordinary old sex, such -as can be had any free evening around here--and you'll stop being -depressed and worried. Uncle Albin Cendar's Priceless Old Recipe, -kiddo, and don't argue with me: it works." - -Dodd said nothing at all. After a few seconds his eyes slowly closed -and he sat like a statue in the room. - -Albin, watching him, whistled inaudibly under his breath. A minute went -by silently. The light in the room began to diminish. - -"Sun's going down," Albin offered. - -There was no response. Albin got up again and went to the window. - -"Maybe you're right," he said with his back to Dodd's still figure. -"There ought to be some way of getting people off-planet, people who -just don't want to stay here." - -"Do you know why there isn't?" Dodd's voice was a shock, stronger than -before. - -"Sure I know," Albin said. "There's--" - -"Slavery," Dodd said. "Oh, sure, maybe somebody knows about it, but -it's got to be kept quiet. And if anybody got back--well, look." - -"Don't bother me with it." Albin's voice was suddenly less sure. - -"Look," Dodd said. "The Confederation needs the metal. It exists pure -here, and in quantity. But if they knew, really knew, how we mined and -smelted and purified it and got it ready for shipment...." - -"So suppose somebody goes back," Albin said. "Suppose somebody talks. -What difference does it make? It's just rumor, nothing official. No, -the reason nobody goes back is cargo space, pure and simple. We need -every inch of cargo space for the shipments." - -"If somebody goes back," Dodd said, "the people will know. Not the -government, not the businesses, the people. And the people don't like -slavery, Albin. No matter how necessary a government finds it. No -matter what kind of a jerry-built defense you can put up for it." - -"Don't be silly," Albin said. There was less conviction in his voice; -he looked out at the sunset as if he were trying to reassure himself. - -"Nobody's allowed to leave," Dodd said, more quietly. "We're--they're -taking every precaution they can. But some day--maybe some day, -Albin--the people are going to find out in spite of every precaution." -He sat straighter. "And then it'll all be over. Then they'll be wiped -out, Albin. Wiped out." - -"They need us," Albin said uncertainly. "They can't do without us." - -Dodd swung round to face him. The sunset was a deepening blaze in the -Commons Room. "Wait and find out," he said in a voice that suddenly -rang on the metal walls. "Wait and find out." - - * * * * * - -After a long time Albin said. "Damn it, what you need is education. A -cure. Fun. What I've been saying." He paused and took a breath. "How -about it, Dodd?" - -Dodd didn't move. Another second passed. "All right, Albin," he said -slowly, at last. "I'll think about it. I'll think about it." - - - - -3 - - -The sleeping room for the Small Ones was, by comparison with the great -Commons Room only the masters inhabited, a tiny place. It had only the -smallest of windows, so placed as to allow daylight without any sight -of the outside; the windows were plastic-sheeted slits high up on the -metal walls, no more. The room was, at best, dim, during the day, but -that hardly mattered: during the day the room was empty. Only at night, -when the soft artificial lights went on, shedding the glow from their -wall-shielded tubes, was the room fit for normal vision. There were -no decorations, of course, and no chairs: the Alberts had no use for -chairs, and decorations were a refinement no master had yet bothered to -think of. The Alberts were hardly taught to appreciate such things in -any case: that was not what they had come to learn: it was not useful. - -The floor of the room was covered with soft leaves striped a glossy -brown over the pervasive gray-green of the planet's foliage. These -served as a soft mat for sleeping, and were also the staple food of the -Alberts. These were not disturbed to find their food strewn in such -irregular heaps and drifts across the metal floor: in their birth sacs, -they had lived by ingestion from the floor of the forest, and, later, -they had been so fed in the Birth Huts to which the Elders had taken -them, and where they had been cleaned and served and taught, among -other matters, English. - -What they had been taught was, at any rate, English of a sort, bearing -within it the seeds of a more complex tongue, and having its roots far -back in the pre-space centuries, when missionaries had first begun to -visit strange lands. Men had called it pidgin and Beche-le-mer and a -hundred different names in a hundred different variations. Here, the -masters called it English. The Alberts called it words, and nothing -more. - -Now, after sunset, they filed in, thirty or so jewel-green cyclopean -alligators at the end of their first day of training, waddling clumsily -past the doorway and settled with a grateful, crouching squat on the -leaves that served as bed and food. None were bothered by the act of -sitting on the leaves: for one thing, they had no concept of dirt. In -the second place, they were rather remarkably clean. They had neither -sex organs, in any human sense of the word, or specific organs of -evacuation: their entire elimination was gaseous. Air ducts in the room -would draw off the waste products, and the Alberts never noticed them: -they had, in fact, no conception of evacuation as a process, since to -them the entire procedure was invisible and impalpable. - -The last of them filed in, and the masters--two of them, carrying long -metal tubes--shut the door. The Alberts were alone. The door's clang -was followed by other sounds as the lock was thrown. The new noises, -and the strangeness of bare metal walls and artificial light, still -novel after only a single day's training, gave rise to something very -like a panic, and a confused babble of voices arose from the crowd. - -"What is this?" - -"What place is this?" - -"It is a training place." - -"My name Hortat. My name Hortat." - -"What is training?" - -"There is food here." - -"What place is this?" - -"Where are elders?" - -"Are masters here?" - -"My food." - -"Is this a place for sleeping?" - -"Training is to do what a master says. Training--" - -"There are no elders. My name Hortat." - -"My place." - -"My food." - -"Where is this?" - -"Where is this place?" - -Like the stirring of a child in sleep, the panic lasted only a little -while, and gave way to an apathetic peace. Here and there an Albert -munched on a leaf, holding it up before his wide mouth in the pose of a -giant squirrel. Others sat quietly looking at the walls or the door or -the window, or at nothing. One, whose name was Cadnan, stirred briefly -and dropped the leaf he was eating and turned to the Albert next to him. - -"Marvor," he said. "Are you troubled?" - -Marvor seemed slighter than Cadnan, and his single eye larger, but -both looked very much alike to humans, as members of other races, and -particularly such races as the human in question judges inferior, are -prone to do. "I do not know what happens," he said in a flat tone. "I -do not know what is this place, or what we do." - -"This is the place of masters," Cadnan said. "We train here, and we -work here, and live here. It is the rule of the masters." - -"Yet I do not know," Marvor said. "This training is a hard thing, and -the work is also hard when it comes." - -Cadnan closed his eye for a second, to relax, but he found he wanted to -talk. His first day in the world of the masters had been too confusing -for him to order it into any sensible structure. Conversation, of -whatever kind, was a release, and might provide more facts. Cadnan was -hungry for facts. - -He opened his eye again. - -"It is what the masters say," he told Marvor. "The masters say we do a -thing, and we do it. This is right." - -Marvor bent toward him. "Why is it right?" he asked. - -"Because the masters say it is right," Cadnan told him, with the -surprised air of a person explaining the obvious. "The elders, too, say -it before we come to this place." He added the final sentence like a -totally unnecessary clincher--unimportant by comparison with the first -reason, but adding a little weight of its own, and making the whole -story even more satisfying. - -Marvor, however, didn't seem satisfied. "The masters always speak -truth," he said. "Is this what you tell me?" - -"It is true," Cadnan said flatly. - -Marvor reflected for a second. "It may be," he said at last. He turned -away, found a leaf and began to munch on it slowly. Cadnan picked up -his own leaf quite automatically, and it was several seconds before he -realized that Marvor had ended the conversation. He didn't want it to -end. Talk, he told himself dimly, was a good thing. - -"Marvor," he said, "do you question the masters?" It was a difficult -sentence to frame: the idea itself would never have occurred to him -without Marvor's prodding, and it seemed now no more than the wildest -possible flight of fancy. But Marvor, turning, did not treat it -fancifully at all. - -"I question all," he said soberly. "It is good to question all." - -"But the masters--" Cadnan said. - -Marvor turned away again without answering. - -Cadnan stared at his leaf for a time. His mind was troubled, and there -were no ready solutions in it. He was not of the temperament to fasten -himself to easy solutions. He had instead to hammer out his ideas -slowly and carefully: then when he had reached a conclusion of some -kind, he had confidence in it and knew it would last. - -Marvor was just the same--but perhaps there had been something wrong -with him from the beginning. Otherwise, Cadnan realized, he would -never have questioned the masters. None of the Alberts questioned the -masters, any more than they questioned their food or the air they -breathed. - -After a time Marvor spoke again. "I am different," he said, "I am not -like others." - -Cadnan thought this too obvious to be worth reply, and waited. - -"The elders tell me in the hut I am different," Marvor went on. "When -they come to bring food they tell me this." - -Cadnan took a deep breath of the air. It was, of course, scented with -the musk of the Alberts, but Cadnan could not recognize it: like his -fellows, he had no sense of smell. "Different is not good," he said, -perceiving a lesson. - -"You find out how different I am." Marvor sat very still. His voice was -still flat but the tone carried something very like a threat. Cadnan, -involved in his own thinking, ignored it. - -"The masters are big and we are small," he said slowly. "The masters -know better than we know." - -"That is silliness," Marvor said instantly. "I want things. They make -me do training. Why can I not do what I want to do?" - -"Maybe," Cadnan said with care, "it is bad." - -Marvor made a hissing sound. "Maybe they are bad," he said. "Maybe the -masters and the elders are bad." - -Matters had gone so far that even this thought found a tentative -lodgment in Cadnan's mind. But, almost at once, it was rejected as a -serious concept. "They give us leaves to eat," he said. "They keep us -here, warm and dry in this place. How is this bad?" - -Marvor closed his eye and made the hissing sound again; it was -equivalent to a laugh of rejection. He turned among the leaves and -found enough room to lie down: in a few seconds he was either asleep -or imitating sleep very well. Cadnan looked at him hopefully, and then -turned away. A female was watching him from the other side, her eyes -wide and unblinking. - -"You ask many questions," the female said. "You speak much." - -Cadnan blinked his eye at her. "I want to learn," he said. - -"Is it good to learn?" the female asked. The question made Cadnan -uncomfortable: who knew, for certain, what was good? He knew he would -have to think it out for a long time. But the female wanted an answer. - -"It is good," he said casually. - -The female accepted that with quiet passivity. "My name is Dara," she -said. "It is what I am called." - -Cadnan said: "I am Cadnan." He found himself tired, and Dara apparently -saw this and withdrew, leaving him to sleep. - -But his sleep was troubled, and it seemed a long time before day came -and the door opened again to show the masters with their strange metal -tubes standing outside in the corridor. - - - - -4 - - -"I'm not going to take no for an answer." - -Albin stood in the doorway of his room, slouching against the metal -lintel and looking even more like a gnome. Dodd sighed softly and got -up from the single chair. "I'm not anxious for a party," he said. "All -I want to do is go to sleep." - -"At nine o'clock?" Albin shook his head. - -"Maybe I'm tired." - -"You're not tired," Albin said. "You're scared. You're scared of what -you might find out there in the cold, cruel world, friend. You're -scared of parties and strange people and noise. You want to be left -alone to brood, right?" - -"No, I--" - -"But I'm not going to leave you alone to brood," Albin said. "Because -I'm your friend. And brooding isn't good for you. It's brooding that's -got you into such a state--where you worry about growing things, for -God's sake, and about freedom and silly things like that." Albin -grinned. "What you've got to do is stop worrying, and I know how to get -you to do that, kiddo. I really do." - -"Sure you do," Dodd said, and his voice began to rise. He went to the -bed, walked along its length to the window, as he talked, never facing -Albin. "You know how to make me feel just fine, no worries at all, no -complications, just a nice, simple life. With nothing at all in it, -Albin. Nothing at all." - -"Now, come on--" Albin began. - -"Nothing," Dodd said. "Go to parties, drink, meet a girl, forget, go -right on forgetting, and then one day you wake up and it's over and -what have you got?" - -"Parties," Albin said. "Girls. Drinks. What else is there?" - -"A lot," Dodd said. "I want--oh, God, I don't know what I want. Too -much. Too many ideas ... trapped here being a master, and that's no -good." - -"Dodd," Albin said, in what was almost a worried tone, "what the hell -are you talking about?" - -"Being a master," Dodd said. "There shouldn't be masters. Or slaves. -Just--beings, able to do what they want to do ... what makes me any -better than the Alberts, anyhow?" - -"The Belbis beam, for one thing," Albin said. "Position, power, -protection, punishment. What makes anybody better than anybody else?" - -"But that's the point--don't you see?" - -Albin stood upright, massaging his arm. "What I see is a case of -worry," he said, "and as a doctor I have certain responsibilities. I've -got to take care of that case of worries, and I'm not going to take no -for an answer." - -"Leave me alone," Dodd said. "Just do me a favor. Leave me alone." - -"Come with me," Albin said. "This once. Look--what can you lose? Just -once can't hurt you--you can do all the brooding you want to do some -other time. Give me a present. Come to the party with me." - -"I don't like parties." - -"And I don't like going alone," Albin said. "So do me a favor." - -"Where is it?" Dodd asked after a second. - -Albin beamed. "Psych division," he said. "Come on." - - * * * * * - -The metal door was festooned with paper drapery in red and blue. -Dodd turned before they got to it, standing about five feet down the -corridor. "How did you find out about a party in Psych division?" he -asked. - -Albin shrugged. "I'm an active type," he said. "I've got friends all -over. You'd be surprised how many friends a man can have, Dodd, if he -goes to parties. If he meets people instead of brooding." - -"All right," Dodd said. "I'm here, aren't I? You've convinced me--stop -the propaganda." - -"Sure." Albin went up to the door and knocked. From inside they could -hear a dim babel of voices. After a second he knocked again, more -loudly. - -A voice rose above the hum. "Who's there?" - -"A friend," Albin said. "The password is Haenlingen-on-fire." - -The voice broke into laughter. "Oh," it said. It was now -distinguishingly a female voice. "It's you, Cendar. But hold it down on -the Haenlingen stuff: she's supposed to be arriving." - -"At a party?" Albin said. "She's a hundred and twelve--older than that. -What does she want with parties? Don't be silly." - -The door opened. A slim, blonde girl stood by it, her mouth still -grinning. "Cendar, I mean it," she said. "You watch out. One of these -days you're going to get into trouble." - -Behind her the hum had risen to a chorus of mad clatter, conversation, -laughter, song--the girl dragged Albin and Dodd inside and shut the -door. "I'm always in trouble," Albin was saying. "It keeps life -interesting." But it was hard to hear him, hard to hear any single -voice in the swell of noise. - -"Thank God for soundproofing," the girl said. "We can do whatever we -like and there's no noise out there." - -"The drapes give you away," Albin said. - -"Let the drapes give us away," the girl said. "We're entitled to have -quiet little gatherings, right? And who knows what goes on behind the -drapes?" - -"Right," Albin said. "You are right. You are absolutely, incredibly, -stunningly right. And to prove how right you are I'm going to do you a -favor." - -"What kind of favor?" the girl said with mock suspicion. - -"Greta," Albin said, "I'm going to introduce you to a nice young man." - -"You don't know any nice young men." - -"I know this one," Albin said. "Greta Forzane, Johnny Dodd. Take good -care of him, kiddo--he needs it." - -"What do you mean, good care of him?" she said. But Albin was gone, -into the main body of the party, a melee confused enough so that he was -lost in twenty steps. Greta turned back almost hopeless eyes. - -A second passed. - -"You a friend of Cendar's?" Greta asked. - -Johnny blinked and came back to her. "Oh, Albin?" he said. -"We're--acquaintances." - -"Friends," Greta said firmly. "That's nice. He's such a nice guy--I -bet you are, too." She smiled and took his arm. Her hand was slightly -warm and very dry. Johnny took his first real look at her: she seemed -shining, somehow, as if the hair had been lacquered, the face sprayed -with a clear polish. The picture she made was vaguely unpleasant, and a -little threatening. - -"A nice guy?" he said. "I wouldn't know, Miss Forzane." - -"Oh, come on, now," she said. "The name is Greta. And you're -Johnny--right?" - -" ... Right." - -"You know," Greta said, "you're cute." - -Behind her the party was still going on, but its volume seemed to have -diminished a little. Or maybe, Johnny thought, he was getting used to -it. "You're cute too," he said awkwardly, not knowing any more what he -did want to do, or where he wanted to be. Her grasp on his arm was the -main fact in the world. - -"Thanks," she said. "Here." - -And as suddenly as that she was in his arms, plastered up against him, -pressed to him as tightly as he could imagine, her mouth on his, her -hands locked behind his neck: he was choking, he couldn't breathe, he -couldn't move.... - -The door behind him opened and shoved him gently across his back. - -He fell, and he fell on top of her. - -It seemed as if the entire party had stopped to watch him. There was no -noise. There was no sound at all. He climbed to his feet to face the -eyes and found they were not on him, but behind him. - -A tiny white-haired woman stood there, her mouth one thin line of -disapproval. "Well," she said. "Having a good time?" - - * * * * * - -In Dodd's mind, then and later, the sign began. - -That was, as far as he could ever remember, the first second he had -even seen it. It was there, behind his eyes, blinking on and off, like -a neon sign. Sometimes he paid no attention to it, but it was always -there, always telling him the same thing. - -_This is the end._ - -_This is the end._ - -_This is the end._ - -He looked into that ancient grim face and the sign began. And from then -on it never stopped, never stopped at all-- - -Until, of course, the end. - - * * * * * - - PUBLIC OPINION ONE - - Being an excerpt from a speech delivered by Grigor Pellasin - (Citizen, white male, age forty-seven, two arrests for Disorderly - Conduct, occupation variable, residence variable) in the district - of Hyde Park, city of London, country of England, planet Earth of - the Confederation, in the year of the Confederation two hundred and - ten, on May fourteenth, from two-thirty-seven P. M. (Greenwich) - until three-forty-six P. M. (Greenwich), no serious incidents - reported. - -They all talk about equality, friends, and you know what equality is? -Equality is a license to rob you blind and steal you blind, to cut you -up and leave the pieces for the garbage collector, to stuff what's left -of you down an oubliette, friend, and forget about you. That's what -equality is, friends, and don't you let them tell you any different. - -Why, years ago there used to be servants, people who did what you told -them. And the servants got liberated, friends, they all got freedom and -equality so they were just like us. Maybe you can remember about those -servants, because they're all in the history books, and the historical -novels, and maybe you do a little light reading now and then, am I -right about that? - -Well, sir, those servants got themselves liberated, and do you think -they liked it? Do you think they liked being free and equal? - -Oh, don't ask the government, friends, because the government is going -to tell you they liked it just fine, going to tell you they loved it -being just like everybody else, free and equal and liberated at last. - -The government's going to tell you a lot of things, and my advice -is, friends, my advice is do some looking and listening for yourself -and think it all out to the right conclusions. Otherwise you're -just letting the government do all your thinking for you and that's -something you don't want. - -No, friends, you do your own thinking and you figure out whether they -liked being free, these servants. - -You know what being free meant for them? - -It meant being out of work. - -And how do you think they liked that? - -Now, maybe here among us today, among you kind people listening to what -I've got to say to you, maybe there are one or two who've been out of -work during their lifetimes. Am I right? Well, friends, you tell the -others here what it felt like. - -It felt hopeless and dragged-out and like something you'd never want to -go through again, am I right? - -Of course I'm right, friends. But there was nothing you could do about -being out of work. If you were out of work that was that, and you were -through, no chance, no place to move. - -These servants, friends, they liked being servants. I know that's hard -to believe because everybody's been telling you different all your -lives, but you just do a little independent thinking, the way I have, -and you'll see. It was a good job, being a servant. It was steady and -dependable and you knew where you stood. - -Better than being out of work? You bet your last credit, you bet your -very last ounce of bounce on that, friends. - -And better than a lot of other things, too. They were safe and warm and -happy, and they felt fine. - -And then a lot of busybodies came along and liberated them. - -Well, friends, some of them went right back and asked to be servants -again--they did so. It's a historical fact. But that was no good: the -machines had taken over and there was no room for them. - -They were liberated for good. - -And the lesson you learn from that, friends, is just this: don't go -around liberating people until you know what they want. Maybe they're -happier the way they are. - -Now, out on a far planet there's a strange race. Maybe you've heard -about them, because they work for us, they help get us the metals we -need to keep going. They're part of the big line of supply that keeps -us all alive, you and me both. - -And there are some people talking about liberating those creatures, -too, which aren't even human beings. They're green and they got one -eye apiece, and they don't talk English except a little, or any -Confederation tongue. - -Yet even so there are people who want to liberate those creatures. - -Now, you sit back and think a minute. Do those creatures want to be -liberated? Is it like liberating you and me, who know what's what and -can think and make decisions? Because being free and equal means voting -and everything else. Do you want these green creatures voting in the -same assemblies as yours? - -If it were cruel to keep them the way they are, working on their own -world and being fed and kept warm and safe, why, I'd say go ahead and -liberate them. But what's cruel about it, friends? - -They're safe--safer than they would be on their own. - -They're fed well and kept warm. - -And remember those servants, friends. Maybe the greenies like their -life, too. It's their world and their metal--they have a right to help -send it along. - -You don't want to act hastily, friends, now do you? - -My advice to you is this: just let the greenies alone. Just let them -be, the way they want to be, and don't go messing around where there's -no need to mess around. Because if anybody starts to do that, why, it -can lead to trouble, friends, to a whole lot of unnecessary bother and -trouble. - -Am I right? - - - - -5 - - -"I don't mind parties, Norma, not ordinary parties. But that one didn't -look like an ordinary party." - -Norma stood her ground in front of the desk. This, after all, was -important "But, Dr. Haenlingen, we--" - -"Don't try to persuade me," the little old woman said sharply. "Don't -try to cozen me into something: I know all the tricks, Norma. I -invented a good third of them, and it's been a long time since I had to -use a textbook to remember the rest." - -"I'm not trying to persuade you of anything." The woman wouldn't -listen, that was the whole trouble: in the harsh bright light of -morning she sat like a stone statue, casting a shadow of black on the -polished desk. This was Dr. Haenlingen--and how did you talk to Dr. -Haenlingen? But it was important, Norma reminded herself again: it was -perfectly possible that the entire group of people at the party would -be downgraded, or at the least get marked down on their records. "But -we weren't doing anything harmful. If you have a party you've got to -expect people to--oh, to get over-enthusiastic, maybe. But certainly -there was nothing worth getting angry about. There was--" - -"I'm sure you've thought all this out," Dr. Haenlingen said tightly. -"You seem to have your case well prepared, and it would be a pleasure -to listen to you." - -"But--" - -"Unfortunately," the woman continued in a voice like steel, "I have a -great deal of work to do this morning." - -"Dr. Haenlingen--" - -"I'm sorry," she said, but she didn't sound sorry in the least. Her -eyes went down to a pile of papers on the desk. A second passed. - -"You've got to listen to me," Norma said. "What you're doing is unfair." - -Dr. Haenlingen didn't look up. "Oh?" - -"They were just--having fun," Norma said. "There was nothing wrong, -nothing at all. You happened to come in at a bad moment, but it didn't -mean anything, there wasn't anything going on that should have bothered -you...." - -"Perhaps not," Dr. Haenlingen said. "Unfortunately, what bothers me is -not reducible to rule." - -"But you're going to act on it," Norma said. "You're going to--" - -"Yes?" Dr. Haenlingen said. "What am I going to do?" - -"Well, you--" - -"Downgrade the persons who were there?" Dr. Haenlingen asked. "Enter -remarks in the permanent records? Prevent promotion? Just what am I -supposed to have in mind?" - -"Well, I thought--I--" - -"I plan," Dr. Haenlingen said, "nothing whatever. Not just at present. -I want to think about what I saw, about the people I saw. At present, -nothing more." - -There was a little silence. Norma felt herself relax. Then she asked: -"At present?" - -Dr. Haenlingen looked up at her, the eyes ice-cold and direct. "What -action I determine to take," she said, "will be my responsibility. Mine -alone. I do not intend to discuss it, or to attempt to justify it, to -you or to anyone." - -"Yes, Dr. Haenlingen." Norma stood awkwardly. "Thank you--" - -"Don't thank me--yet," Dr. Haenlingen said. "Go and do your own work. -I've got quite a lot to oversee here." She went back to her papers. -Norma turned, stopped and then walked to the door. At the door she -turned again but Dr. Haenlingen was paying no visible attention to -her. She opened the door, went out and closed it behind her. - -In the corridor she took one deep breath and then another. - -The trouble was, you couldn't depend on the woman to do anything. She -meant exactly what she had said: "For the present." And who could tell -what might happen later? - -Norma headed for her own cubicle, where she ignored the papers and the -telephone messages waiting for her and reached for the intercom button -instead. She pushed it twice and a voice said: - -"What happened?" - -"It's not good, Greta," Norma said. "It's--well, undecided, anyhow: -we've got that much going for us." - -"Undecided?" the voice asked. - -"She said she wouldn't do anything--yet. But she left it open." - -"Oh. Lord. Oh, my." - -Norma nodded at the intercom speaker. "That's right. Anything's -possible--you know what she's like." - -"Oh, Lord. Do I." - -"And--Greta, why did you have to be there, right by the door, with that -strange type--as if it had been set up for her? Right in front of her -eyes...." - -"An accident," Greta said. "A pure by-God accident. When she walked -in, when I saw her, believe me, Norma, my blood ran absolutely cold. -Temperature of ice, or something colder than ice." - -"Just that one look, just that one long look around." Norma said, "and -she was gone. As if she'd memorized us, every one of us, filed the -whole thing away and didn't need to see any more." - -"I would have explained. But there wasn't any time." - -"I know," Norma said. "Greta, who was he, anyhow?" - -"Him?" Greta said. "Who knows? A friend of Cendar's--you know Cendar, -don't you?" - -"Albin Cendar?" - -"That's the one. He--" - -"But he's not from Psych." Norma said. - -"Neither is his friend, I guess," Greta said. "But they come over, you -know that--Cendar's always around." - -"And you had to invite them...." - -"Invite?" Greta said. "I didn't invite anybody. They were there, that's -all. Cendar always shows up. You know that." - -"Great," Nonna said. "So last night he had to bring a friend and the -friend got grabby--" - -"No," Greta said. "He was--well, confused maybe. Never been to a party -of ours before, or anyhow not that I remember. I was trying to--loosen -him up." - -"You loosened everybody up," Norma said. - -There was a silence. - -"I'm sorry," Norma said. "All right. You couldn't have known--" - -"I didn't know anything," Greta's voice said. "She was there, that's -all." - -"I wonder whether Dr. Haenlingen knew him," Norma said. "The new one, I -mean." - -"His name was Johnny something," Greta said. - -"We'll just have to wait and find out," Norma said. "Whatever she's -going to do, there isn't any way to stop it. I did the best I could--" - -"Sure you did," Greta said. "We know that. Sure." - -"Cendar and his friends--" Norma began. - -"Oh, forget about that," Greta said. "Who cares about them?" - - - - -6 - - -The party had meant nothing, nothing at all, and Albin told himself he -could forget all about it. - -If Haenlingen wanted to take any action, he insisted, she'd take it -against her own division. The Psych people would get most of it. Why, -she probably didn't even know who Albin Cendar was.... - -But the Psych division knew a lot they weren't supposed to know. Maybe -she would even.... - -Forget about it, Albin told himself. He closed his eyes for a second -and concentrated on his work. That, at least, was something to keep him -from worrying: the whole process of training was something he could -use in forgetting all about the party, and Haenlingen, and possible -consequences.... He took a few breaths and forced his mind away from -all of that, back to the training. - -Training was a dreary waste of time, as a matter of fact--except that -it happened to be necessary. There was no doubt of that: without -sufficient manual labor, the metal would not be dug, the smelters -would not run, the purifying stages and the cooling stages and even -the shipping itself would simply stop. Automation would have solved -everything, but automation was expensive. The Alberts were cheap--so -Fruyling's World used Alberts instead of transistors and cryogenic -relays. - -And if you were going to use Alberts at all, Albin thought, you sure as -hell had to train them. God alone knew what harm they could do, left -alone in a wilderness of delicate machinery without any instructions. - -All the same, "dreary" was the word for it. (An image of Dr. -Haenlingen's frozen face floated into his mind. He pushed it away. It -was morning. It was time for work.) - -He met Derban at the turn in the corridor, perhaps fifty feet before -the Alberts' door. That wasn't strictly according to the rules, and -Albin knew it: he had learned the code as early as anyone else. But the -rules were for emergencies--and emergencies didn't happen any more. The -Alberts weren't about to revolt. - -He was carrying his Belbis beam, of course. The little metal tube -didn't look like much, but it was guaranteed to stop anything short -of a spaceship in its tracks, and by the very simple method of making -holes. The Belbis beam would make holes in nearly anything: Alberts, -people or most materials. It projected a quarter-inch beam of force in -as near a straight line as Einsteinian physics would allow, and it was -extremely efficient. Albin had been practicing with it for three years, -twice a week. - -Everybody did. Not that there's ever been a chance to use it. - -And there wasn't going to be a chance, Albin decided. He exchanged a -word or two absently with Derban and they went to the door together. -Albin reached for the door but Derban's big brown hand was already on -it. He grinned and swung the door open. - -Air conditioning had done something to minimize the reek inside, but -not much. Albin devoted most of his attention to keeping his face a -complete mask. The last thing he wanted was to retch--not in front of -the Alberts, who didn't really exist for him, but in front of Derban. -And the party (which he wasn't going to think about) hadn't left his -stomach in perfect shape. - -The Alberts, seeing these masters enter stirred and rose. Albin barked -at them in a voice that was only very slightly choked: "Form a line. -Form a line." - -The Alberts milled around, quite obviously uncertain what a line was. -Albin gripped his beam tighter, not because it was a weapon but just -because he needed something handy to take out his anger on. - -"Damn it," he said tightly, "a line. Form a straight line." - -"It's only their second day," Derban said in a low voice. "Give them -time." Albin could barely hear him over the confused babble of the -Alberts. He shook his head and felt a new stab of anger. - -"One behind the other," he told the milling crowd. "A line, a straight -line." - -After a little more confusion, Albin was satisfied. He sighed heavily -and beckoned with his beam: the Alberts started forward, through the -door and out into the corridor. - -Albin went before, Derban behind, falling naturally into step. They -came to the great elevator and Albin pushed a stud. The door slid open. - -The Alberts, though, didn't want to go in. They huddled, looking at -the elevator with big round eyes, muttering to themselves and to -each other. Derban spoke up calmly: "This is the same room you were -in yesterday. It won't hurt you. Just go through the door. It's all -right." But the words had very little effect. A few of the Alberts -moved closer and then, discovering that they were alone, hurriedly -moved back again. The elevator door remained open, waiting. - -Albin, ready to shriek with rage by now, felt a touch at his arm. One -of the Alberts was standing near him, looking up. Its eye blinked: it -spoke. "Why does the room move?" The voice was not actually unpleasant, -but its single eye stared at Albin, making him uncomfortable. He told -himself not to blow up. Calm. _Calm._ - -"The room moves because it moves," he said, a little too quickly. -"Because the masters tell it to move. What do you want to know for?" - -"I want to learn," the Albert said calmly. - -"Well, don't ask questions," Albin said. He kept one eye on the -shifting mob. "If there's anything good for you to know, you'll be -told. Meanwhile, just don't ask any questions." - -The Albert looked downcast. "Can I learn without questions?" - -Albin's control snapped. "Damn it, you'll learn what you have to!" he -yelled. "You don't have to ask questions--you're a slave. A slave! Get -that through your green head and shut up!" - -The tone had two effects. First, it made the Albert near him move back, -staring at him still with that single bright eye. Second, the others -started for the elevator, apparently pushed more by the tone than the -words. A master was angry. That, they judged, meant trouble. Acceding -to his wishes was the safest thing to do. - -And so, in little, frightened bunches, they went in. When they were all -clear of the door, Albin and Derban stepped in, too, and the doors slid -shut. Derban took a second to mutter secretly: "You don't have to lose -your temper. You're on a hell of a thin edge this morning." - -Albin flicked his eyes over the brown face, the stocky, stolid figure. -"So I'm on a thin edge," he said. "Aren't you?" - -"Training is training," Derban said. "Got to put up with it, because -what can you do about it?" - -Albin grinned wryly. "I told somebody else that, last night," he said. -"Man named Dodd--hell, you know Johnny Dodd. Told him he needed some -fun. Holy jumping beavers--fun." - -"Maybe you need some," Derban said. - -"Not like last night, I don't," Albin said, and the elevator door -opened. - -Now others took over, guiding the Alberts to their individual places on -the training floor. Each had a small room to himself, and each room had -a spy-TV high up in a corner as a safeguard. - -But the spy-eyes were just as much good as the beams, Albin thought. -They were useless precautions: rebellion wasn't about to happen. It -made more sense, if you thought about it, to worry the way Johnny Dodd -worried, about the Confederation--against which spy-eyes and Belbis -beams weren't going to do any good anyhow. (And nothing was going to -happen. Nothing, he told himself firmly, was going to happen. Nothing.) - -The Alberts were shunted off without trouble. Albin, heaving a small -sigh, fixed the details of his next job in his mind: quality control -in a smelting process. It took him a few seconds to calm down and get -ready, and then he headed for room six, where one Albert waited for -him, trying to think only of the job ahead, and not at all of the -party, of Dr. Haenlingen, of Johnny Dodd, of rebellion and war. - -He nearly succeeded. - - * * * * * - -When he opened the door the Albert inside turned, took a single look at -him, and said: "I do not mean to make masters troubled." - -Albin said: "What?" - -"I do not ask questions now." Albin blinked, and then grinned. - -"Oh," he said. "You're the one. Damn right you don't ask questions. You -just listen to what I tell you--got that?" - -"I listen," the Albert said. - -Albin shut the door and leaned against it. "Okay," he said. "Now the -first thing, you come over here and watch me." He went to the far side -of the room, flicked on the remote set, and waited for it to warm up. -In a few seconds it held a strong, steady picture: a single smelter, a -ladle, an expanse of flooring. - -"I see this when you teach me before," the Albert said in almost a -disappointed tone. - -"I know," Albin told it. Routine was taking over and he felt almost -cheerful again. There was a woman working in the food labs in Building -Two. He'd noticed her a few times in the past weeks. Now he thought of -her again, happily. Maybe tonight "This time I'm going to show you what -to do," he told the Albert, and swept a hand over a row of buttons. In -the smelter, metal began to heat. - -The job was simple enough: the metal, once heated, had to be poured -out into the ladle, which acted as a carrier to take the stuff on to -its next station. The only critical point was the color of the heated -liquid, and the eyes of Alberts and humans saw the same spectrum, -with perhaps a little more discrimination in the eyes of the Alberts. -This Albert had to be taught to let the process go unless the color -was wrong, when a series of buttons would stop everything and send a -quality alarm into men's quarters. - -A machine could have done the job very easily, but machines were -expensive. An Albert could be taught in a week. - -And this one seemed to learn more quickly than most. It grasped the -idea of button-pushing before the end of the day, and Albin made a -mental note to see if he could speed matters up, maybe by letting the -Albert have a crack at actually doing the job on its own by day four or -five instead of day six. - -"You learn fast," he said, when work was finally over. He felt both -tired and tense, but the thought of relaxation ahead kept him nearly -genial. - -"I want to learn," the Albert said. - -"Good boy," Albin said absently. "What's your name?" - -"Cadnan." - - - - -7 - - -But Cadnan, he knew, was only a small name: it was not a great name. He -knew now that he had a great name, and it made him proud because he was -no longer only small Cadnan: he was a slave. - -It was good, he knew, to be a slave. A slave worked and got food and -shelter from the masters, and the masters told him what he could know -without even the need of asking a question. The elders were only -elders, but the masters were masters, and Cadnan was a slave. It made -him feel great and wise when he thought of it. - -That night he could hardly wait to tell his news to Marvor--but Marvor -acted as if he knew it already and was even made angry by the idea. -"What is a slave?" he asked, in a flat, bad tone. - -Cadnan told him of the work, the food, the shelter.... - -"And what is a master?" Marvor asked. - -"A master is a master," Cadnan said. "A master is the one who knows." - -"A master tells you what to do," Marvor said. "I am training and there -is more training to come and then work. This is because of the masters." - -"It is good," Cadnan said. "It is important." - -Marvor shook his head, looking very much like a master himself. "What -is important?" he said. - -Cadnan thought for a minute. "Important is what a master needs for -life," he said at last. "The masters need a slave for life, because a -slave must push the buttons. Without this work the masters do not live." - -"Then why do the masters not push the buttons?" Marvor said. - -"It is good they do not," Cadnan said stubbornly. "A slave is a big -thing, and Cadnan is only a little thing. It is better to be big than -little." - -"It is better to be master than slave," Marvor said sullenly. - -"But we are not masters," Cadnan said, with the air of a person trying -to bring reason back to the discussion. "We do not look like masters, -and we do not know what they know." - -"You want to learn," Marvor said. "Then learn what they know." - -"They teach me," Cadnan said. "But I am still a slave, because they -teach me. I do not teach them." - -Marvor hissed and at the same time shook his head like a master. The -effect was not so much frightening as puzzling: he was a creature, -suddenly, who belonged to both worlds, and to neither. "A master is one -who does what he wants," he said. "If I do what I want, am I a master?" - -"That is silliness," Cadnan said. Marvor seemed about to reply, but -both were surprised instead by the opening of the door. - -A master stood in the lighted entrance, holding to the sides with both -hands. - -Anyone with a thorough knowledge of men could have told that he was -drunk. Any being with a sense of smell could have detected the odors of -that drunkenness. But the Alberts knew only that a master had come to -them during the time for eating and sleeping. They stirred, murmuring -restlessly. - -"It's all right," the master said, slurring his words only very -slightly. "I wanted to come and talk. I wanted to talk to one of you." - -Before anyone else could move, Cadnan was upright. "I will talk," he -said in a loud voice. The others stared at him, including Marvor. Even -Cadnan himself was a little surprised at his own speed and audacity. - -"Come on over," the master said from the doorway. "Come on over." He -made a beckoning motion. - -Cadnan picked his way across the room over wakeful Alberts. - -When he had reached the master, the master said: "Sit down." He looked -strange, Cadnan realized, though he could not tell exactly how. - -Cadnan sat and the master, closing the door, sat with his back against -it. There was a second of silence, which the master broke abruptly. - -"My name's Dodd," he said. - - * * * * * - -"I am called Cadnan," Cadnan said. He couldn't resist bringing out his -latest bit of knowledge for display. "I am a slave." - -"Sure," Dodd said dully. "I know. The rest of them say I shouldn't, but -I think about you a lot. About all of you." - -Cadnan, not knowing if this were good or bad, said nothing at all, but -waited. Dodd sighed, shook his head and closed his eyes. After a second -he went on. - -"They tell me, let the slaves have their own life," he said. "But -I don't see it that way. Do you see it that way? After all, you're -people, aren't you? Just like us." - -Cadnan tried to untangle the questions, and finally settled for a -simple answer. "We are slaves," he said. "You are masters." - -"Sure," Dodd said. "But I mean people. And you want the same things -we do. You want a little comfort out of life, a little security--some -food, say, and enough food for tomorrow. Right?" - -"It is good to have," Cadnan said. He was determined to keep his end of -the odd conversation up, even if it seemed to be leading nowhere. - -"It isn't as if we've been here forever," Dodd said. "Only--well, a -hundred or so of your years. Three generations, counting me. And here -we are lording it over you, just because of an accident. We happen to -be farther advanced than you, that's all." - -"You are masters," Cadnan said. "You know everything." - -"Not quite," Dodd said. "For instance, we don't know about you. You -have--well, you have got mates, haven't you? Hell, of course you do. -Male or female. Same as us. More or less." - -"We have mates, when we are ready for mates," Cadnan said. - -Dodd nodded precariously. "Uh-huh," he said. "Mates. They tell me I -need mates, but I tried it and I got into trouble. Mates aren't the -answer, kid. Cadnan. They simply aren't the answer." - -Cadnan thought, suddenly, of Dara. He had not spoken to her again, -but he was able to think of her. When the time of mating came, it was -possible that she would be his mate.... - -But that was forbidden, he told himself. They came from the same tree -in the same time. The rule forbade such matings. - -"What we ought to do," Dodd said abruptly, "is we ought to do a -thorough anthropological--anthropological study on you people. A really -big job. But that's uneconomic, see? Because we know what we have to -know. Where to find you, what to feed you, how to get you to work. They -don't care about the rest." - -"The masters are good," Cadnan said stolidly into the silence. "They -let me work." - -"Sure," Dodd said, and shrugged, nearly losing his balance. He -recovered, and went on as if nothing at all had happened. "They let -you work for them," he said. "And what do you get out of it? Food and -shelter and security, I guess. But how would you like to work for -yourself instead?" - -Cadnan stared. "I do not understand," he said slowly. - -Dodd shook his head. "No," he said. "How would you like it if there -were no masters? Only people, just you and your people, living your own -lives and making your own decisions? How about that, kid?" - -"We would be alone," Cadnan said simply. "No master would feed us. We -would die." - -"No," Dodd said again. "What did you do before we came?" - -"It was different," Cadnan said. "It was not good. This is better." He -tried to imagine a world without masters, but the picture would not -come. Obviously, then, the world he lived in was better: it was better -than nothing. - -"Slaves," Dodd said to himself. "With a slave mentality." And then: -"Tell me, Cadnan, do they all think like you?" - -Cadnan didn't think of Marvor. By now he was so confused by this -strange conversation that his answer was automatic. "We do not talk -about it." - -Dodd looked at him mistily. "I'm disturbing you for nothing," he said. -"Nothing I can do but get killed trying to start up a slave revolt. -Which might be okay, but I don't know. If you get me--I don't know -about that, kid. Right?" He stood up, a little shakily, still leaning -against the door. "And frankly," he said, "I don't want to get killed -over a lot of alligators." - -"No one wishes to die," Cadnan said. - -"You'd be surprised," Dodd told him. He moved and opened the door. -For a second he stood in the entrance. "People can wish for almost -anything," he said. "You'd be surprised." The door banged shut and he -was gone. - - * * * * * - -Cadnan sat staring at the door for a second, his mind a tangle of ideas -and of new words for which he had no referents whatever. When he turned -away at last his eye fell on Dara, curled in a far corner. She was -looking at him but when he saw her he looked away. That disturbed him, -too: the rules were very clear on matings. - -Cadnan wanted to tell someone what he felt. He wanted information, -and he wanted someone to follow. But the masters were masters: he -could not be like them. And in the room where he slept there were no -elders. The thought of speaking with an elder, in any case, gave him no -satisfaction. He did not want an elder: he could not join the masters -and ask questions. - -Somewhere, he told himself, there would be someone.... - -Somewhere.... - -Of course, there was Marvor. Later in the night, while Cadnan still lay -awake trying to put thoughts and words together in his mind, Marvor -moved closer to him. - -"I want you with me," he said. - -But Marvor, Cadnan had decided, was bad. "I sleep here," Cadnan said, a -trifle severely. "I do not move my place." - -In the dimness Marvor shook his head _no_, like a master. "I want you -with me in the plan I have," he said. "I want you to help me." - -That was different. The rules of the elders covered such a request. -"Does a brother refuse help to a brother?" Cadnan asked. "We are from -the same tree and the same time. Tell me what I must do." - -Marvor opened his mouth wide, wider, until Cadnan saw the flash of his -many teeth, and a second passed in silence. Then Marvor snapped his -jaws shut, hissing, and spoke. "The masters tell us what to do. They -make our life for us." - -"This is true," Cadnan muttered. - -"It is evil," Marvor said. "It is bad. We must make our own lives. -Every thing makes its own life." - -"We are slaves," Cadnan said. "This is our life. It is our place." - -Marvor sat up suddenly. Around them the others muttered and stirred. -"Does the plant grow when a master tells it?" he asked. "Does the tree -bud when a master tells it? So we must also grow in our own way." - -"We are not plants or trees," Cadnan said. - -"We are alive," Marvor said in a fierce, sudden whisper. "The masters, -too, are alive. We are the same as they. Why do they tell us what to -do?" - -Cadnan was very patient. "Because they know, and we do not," he said. -"Because they tell us, that is all. It is the way things are." - -"I will change the way things are," Marvor said. He spoke now more -softly still. "Do you want to be a master?" - -"I am no master," Cadnan said wearily. "I am a slave." - -"That is a bad thing." Cadnan tried to speak, but Marvor went on -without stopping. "Dara is with me," he said, "and some of the others. -There are not many. Most of the brothers and sisters are cowards." - -Then he had to define "coward" for Cadnan--and from "coward" he -progressed to another new word, "freedom." That was a big word but -Cadnan approached it without fear, and without any preconception. - -"It is not good to be free," he said at last, in a reasonable, weary -tone. "In the cold there is a bad thing. In the rain there is a bad -thing. To be free is to go to these bad things." - -"To be free is to do what you want," Marvor said. "To be free is to be -your own master." - -After some thought Cadnan asked: "Who can be his own master? It is like -being your own mate." - -Marvor seemed to lose patience all at once. "Very well," he said. "But -you will not tell the masters what I say?" - -"Does a brother harm a brother?" Cadnan asked. That, too, was in the -rules: even Marvor, he thought sleepily, had to accept the rules. - -"It is good," Marvor said equably. "Soon, very soon, I will make you -free." - -"I do not want to be free." - -"You will want it," Marvor said. "I tell you something you do not know. -Far away from here there are free ones. Ones without masters. I hear -of them in the Birth Huts: they are elders who bring up their own in -hiding from the masters. They want to be free." - -Cadnan felt a surge of hope. Marvor might leave, take away the -disturbance he always carried with him. "You will go and join them?" - -"No," Marvor said. "I will go to them and bring them back and kill all -the masters. I will make the masters dead." - -"You cannot do it," Cadnan said instantly, shocked. - -"I can," Marvor said without raising his voice. "Wait and you will see. -Soon we will be free. Very soon now." - - - - -8 - - -This is the end. - -Dodd woke with the words in his mind, flashing on and off like a -lighted sign. Back in the Confederation (he had seen pictures) there -were moving stair-belts, and at the exits, at turnoffs, there were -flashing signs. The words in his mind were like that: if he ignored -them he would be carried on past his destination, into darkness and -strangeness. - -But his destination was strange, too. His head pounded, his tongue was -thick and cottony in a dry mouth: drinking had provided nothing of an -escape and the price he had to pay was much too high. - -_This is the end._ - -There was no escape, he told himself dimly! The party had resulted -only in that sudden appearance, the grim-mouthed old woman. Drinking -had resulted in no more than this new sickness, and a cloudy memory of -having talked to an Albert, some Albert, somewhere.... He opened his -eyes, felt pain and closed them again. There was no escape: the party -Albin had taken him to had led to trouble, his own drunkenness had led -to trouble. He saw the days stretching out ahead of him and making -years. - -It was nearly time now to begin work. To begin the job of training, -with the Alberts, the job he was going to do through all those days and -years lying ahead. - -_This is the end._ - -He found himself rising, dressing, shaving off the stubble of beard. -His head hurt, his eyes ached, his mouth was hardly improved by a -gargle, but all that was far away, as distant as his own body and his -own motions. - -His head turned and looked at the clock set into his wall. The eyes -noted a position of the hands and passed the information to the brain: -8:47. The brain decided that it was time to go on to work. The body -moved itself in accustomed patterns, opening the door, passing through -the opening, shutting the door again, walking down the hallway. - -All that was very distant. Dodd, himself, was--somewhere else. - -He met his partner standing before a group of the Alberts. Dodd's eyes -noted the expression on his partner's face. The brain registered the -information, interpreted it and predicted. Dodd knew he would hear, and -did hear, sounds: "What's wrong with _you_ this morning?" - -The correct response was on file. "Drinking a little too much last -night, I guess." It was all automatic: everything was automatic. The -Alberts went into their elevator, and Dodd and his partner followed. -Dodd's body did not stumble. But Dodd was somewhere else. - -The elevator stopped, the Alberts went off to their sections, Dodd's -partner went to his first assignment, Dodd found his body walking away -down the hall, opening a door, going through the opening, shutting the -door. The Albert inside looked up. - -"Today we are going to do the work together." Dodd heard his own -voice: it was all perfectly automatic, there were no mistakes. "Do you -understand?" - -"Understand," the Albert said. - -_This is the end._ - - * * * * * - -At the end of the day he was back from wherever he had been, from the -darkness that had wrapped his mind like cotton and removed him. There -was no surprise now. There was no emotion at all: his work was over and -he could be himself again. In the back of his mind the single phrase -still flashed, but he had long since stopped paying attention to that. - -He finished supper and went into the Commons Room, walking aimlessly. - -She was sitting in a chair, with her back to the great window. As Dodd -came in she looked up at him. "Hello, there." - -Dodd waved a hand and, going over, found a chair and brought it to -hers. "I'm sorry about the other night--" - -"Think nothing of it," the girl said. "Anyhow, we're not in any -trouble, and we would have been by now, if you see what I mean." - -"I'm glad." He was no more than polite. There was no more in him, no -emotion at all. He had reached a blank wall: there was no escape for -him or for the Alberts. He could see nothing but pain ahead. - -And so he had turned off the pain, and, with it, everything else. - -"Do you come here often?" the girl was saying. He had been introduced -to her once, but he couldn't remember her name. It was there, filed -away.... - -"Greta Forzane," he said involuntarily. - -She smiled at him, leaning a little forward. "That's right," she said. -"And you're Johnny Dodd. And do you come here often?" - -"... Sometimes." He waited. Soon she would stop, and he could leave, -and.... - -And? - -"Anyhow, it was just as much my fault as yours," Greta was saying. "And -there's no reason why we can't be friends. All right?" - -"Of course." - -There was a brief silence, but he hardly noticed that. - -"I'm sorry if I'm bothering you," she said. - -"Not at all." His eyes were looking at her, but that made no -difference. There was nothing left, nothing. - -He could feel himself tighten, as if he were truly waiting for -something. But there was nothing to wait for. - -Was there? - -"Is there something wrong?" - -"Nothing. I'm fine." - -"You look--" - -She never finished the sentence. The storm broke instead. - -Dodd found himself weeping, twisting himself in the chair; reaching -out with his hands, violently racked in spasms of grief: it seemed as -if the room shook and he grasped nothing until she put her hands on -his shoulders. His eyes were blind with water, his body in a continual -series of spasms. He heard his own voice, making sounds that had never -been words, crying for--for what? Help, peace, understanding? - -Somewhere his mind continued to think, but the thoughts were powerless -and very small. He felt the girl's hands on his shoulders, trying to -hold him, and masked by the sounds of his own weeping he heard her -voice, too: - -"It's all right ... calm down now ... you'll be all right...." - -"... I ... can't...." He managed to get two words out before the -whirlpool sucked him down again, the reasonless, causeless whirlpool of -grief and terror, his body shaking, his mouth wide open and calling in -broken sounds, the tears as hot as metal marking his face as his eyes -squeezed shut. - -"It's all right," the voice went on saying. "It's all right." - -At last he was possessed by the idea that someone else might come -and see them. He drew in a breath and choked on it, and the weeping -began again, but after a time he was able to take one breath and then -another. He was able to stop. He reached into his pocket and found a -handkerchief, wiped his eyes and looked into her face. - -Nothing was there but shock, and a great caution. "What happened?" she -asked. "Are you all right?" - -He took a long time answering, and the answer, because it was true, -surprised him. He was capable of surprise, he was capable of truth. "I -don't know," he said. - - - - -PART TWO - - - - -9 - - -"You will not tell me how to run my own division." The words were -spaced, like steel rivets, evenly into the air. Dr. Haenlingen looked -around the meeting-room, her face not even defiant but simply assured. - -Willis, of Labor, was the first to recover. "It's not that we'd like to -interfere--" he began. - -She didn't let him finish. "That's a lie." Her voice was not excited. -It carried the length of the room, and left no echoes. - -"Now, Dr. Haenlingen--" Rogier, Metals chairman and head of the -meeting, began. - -"Don't soft-soap me," the old woman snapped. "I'm too old for it and -I'm too tough for it. I want to look at some facts, and I want you to -look at them, too." She paused, and nobody said a word. "I want to -start with a simple statement. We're in trouble." - -"That's exactly the point," Willis began in his thin, high voice. "It's -because we all appreciate that fact--" - -"That you want to tamper," the old woman said. "Precisely." The -others were seated around the long gleaming table of native wood. Dr. -Haenlingen stood, her back rigid, at one end, facing them all with a -cold and knowing eye. "But I won't allow tampering in my department. I -can't allow it." - -Rogier took a deep breath. The words came like marshmallow out of -his overstuffed body. "I would hardly call a request for information -'tampering'," he said. - -"I would," Dr. Haenlingen told him tartly. "I've had a very good -reason, over the years, to keep information about my section in my own -hands." - -Rogier's voice became stern. "And that is?" - -"That is," Dr. Haenlingen said, "fools like you." Rogier opened -his mouth, but the old woman gave him no chance. "People who think -psychology is a game, or at any rate a study that applies only to -other people, never to them. People who want to subject others to the -disciplines of psychology, but not themselves." - -"As I understand it--" Rogier began. - -"You do not understand it," the old woman said flatly. "I understand -it because I have spent my life learning to do so. You have spent your -life learning to understand metals, and committees. Doubtless, Dr. -Rogier, you understand metals--and committees." - -Her glance swept once more round the table, and she sat down. There was -a second of silence before Dward, of Research, spoke up. Behind glassy -contact lenses his eyes were, as always, unreadable. "Perhaps Dr. -Haenlingen has a point," he said. "I know I'd hate to have to lay out -my work for the meeting before I had it prepared. I'm sure we can allow -a reasonable time for preparation--" - -"I'm afraid we can't," Rogier put in, almost apologetically. - -"Of course we can't," the old woman added. "First of all, I wasn't -asking for time for preparation. I was asking for non-interference. -And, second, we don't have any time at all." - -"Surely matters aren't that serious," Willis put in. - -"Matters," the old woman said, "are a good deal more serious than that. -Has anyone but me read the latest reports from the Confederation?" - -"I think we all have," Rogier said calmly. - -"Well, then," the old woman asked, "has anyone except myself understood -them?" The head turned, the eyes raked the table. "Dr. Willis hasn't, -or he wouldn't be sounding so hopeful. The rest of you haven't, or you -wouldn't be talking about time. Rogier, you haven't, or you'd quit -trying to pry and begin trying to prepare." - -"Preparations have begun," Rogier said. "It's just for that reason that -I want to get some idea of what your division--" - -"Preparations," she said. The word was like a curse. "There's been a -leak, and a bad leak. We may never know where it started. A ship's -officer, taking metals back, a stowaway, anything. That doesn't matter: -anyone with any sense knew there had to be a leak sooner or later." - -"We've taken every possible precaution," Willis said. - -"Exactly," Dr. Haenlingen told him. "And the leak happened. I take it -there's no argument about that--given the figures and reports we now -have?" - -There was silence. - -"Very well," she went on. "The Confederation is acting just as it has -always been obvious they would act: with idealism, stupidity and a -gross lack of what is called common sense." She paused for comment: -there was none. "Disregarding the fact that they need our shipments, -and need them badly, they have begun to turn against us. Against what -they are pleased to call slavery." - -"Well?" Rogier asked. "It is slavery, isn't it?" - -"What difference do labels make?" she asked. "In any case, they have -turned against us. Public opinion is swinging heavily around, and there -isn't much chance of pushing it back the other way. The man in the -street is used to freedom. He likes it. He thinks the Alberts ought to -be free, too." - -"But if they are," Willis said, "the man in the street is going to lose -a lot of other things--things dependent on our shipments." - -"I said they were illogical," Dr. Haenlingen told him patiently. -"Idealism almost always is. Logic has nothing to do with this--as -anyone but a fool might know." She got up again, and began to walk -back and forth along the end of the table. "There are still people who -are convinced, God knows why, that minds work on logic. Minds do not -work on anything resembling logic. The laws on which they do work are -only now beginning to be understood and codified: but logic was thrown -out the window in the days of Freud. That, gentlemen, was a long time -ago. The man in the Confederation street is going to lose a lot if -he insists on freeing the Alberts. He hasn't thought of that yet, and -he won't think of it until after it happens." She paused, at one end -of her walk, and put her hands on her hips. "That man is suffering -from a disease, if putting it that way makes it easier for you to see. -The disease is called idealism. Its main symptom is a disregard for -consequences in favor of principles." - -"But surely--" Willis began. - -"Dr. Willis, you are outdoing yourself," the old woman cut in. "You -sound as if you are hopeful about idealism resting somewhere even in -us. And perhaps it does, perhaps it does. It is a persistent virus. But -I hope we can control its more massive outbreaks, gentlemen, and not -attempt to convince ourselves that this disease is actually a state of -health." She began to pace again. "Idealism is a disease," she said. -"In epidemic proportions, it becomes incurable." - -"Then there is nothing to be done?" Dward asked. - -"Dr. Rogier has his preparations," the old woman said. "I'm sure they -are as efficient as they can be. They are useless, but he knows that as -well as I do." - -"Now wait a--" Rogier began. - -"Against ships of the Confederation, armed with God alone knows what -after better than one hundred years of progress? Don't be silly, Dr. -Rogier. Our preparations are better than nothing, perhaps, but not much -better. They can't be." - -Having reached her chair again, she sat down in it. The meeting was -silent for better than a minute. Dr. Rogier was the first to speak. -"But, don't you see," he said, "that's just why we need to know what's -going on in your division. Perhaps a weapon might be forged from the -armory of psychology which--" - -"Before that metaphor becomes any more mixed," Dr. Haenlingen said, "I -want to clear one thing up. I am not going to divulge any basic facts -about my division, now or ever." - -"But--" - -"I want you to listen to me carefully," she said. "The tools of -psychology are both subtle and simple. Anyone can use a few of them. -And anyone, in possession of only those few, will be tempted to put -them to use. That use is dangerous, more dangerous than a ticking bomb. -I will not run the risk of such danger." - -"Surely we are all responsible men--" Rogier began. - -"Given enough temptation," Dr. Haenlingen said, "there is no such thing -as a responsible man. If there were, none of us would be here, on -Fruyling's World. None of us would be masters, and none of the Alberts -slaves." - - * * * * * - -"I'll give you an example," she said after a little time. "The Psych -division has parties, parties which are rather well-known among other -divisions. The parties involve drinking and promiscuous sex, they get -rather wild, but there is no great harm done by these activities. -Indeed, they provide a useful, perhaps a necessary release." She -paused. "Therefore I have forbidden them." - -Willis said: "What?" The others waited. - -"I have forbidden them," she said, "but I have not stopped them. Nor -will I. The fact that they are forbidden adds a certain--spice to -the parties themselves. My 'discovery' of one of them does shake the -participants up a trifle, but this is a minor damage: more important, -it keeps alive the idea of 'forbidden fruit'. The parties are extremely -popular. They are extremely useful. Were I to permit them, they would -soon be neither popular nor useful." - -"I'm afraid I don't quite see that," Dward put in. - -Dr. Haenlingen nodded. For the first time, she put her arms on the -table and leaned a little forward. "Many of the workers here," she -said, "are infected by the disease of idealism. The notion of slavery -bothers them. They need to rebel against the establishment in order to -make that protest real to them, and in order to release hostility which -might otherwise destroy us from the inside. In my own division this has -been solved simply by creating a situation in which the workers fear -me--fear being a compound of love, or awe, and hatred. This, however, -will not do on a scale larger than one division: a dictatorship complex -is set up, against which rebellion may still take place. Therefore, the -parties. They serve as a harmless release for rebellious spirits. The -parties are forbidden. Those who attend them are flouting authority. -Their tension fades. They become good workers, for us, instead of -idealistic souls, against us." - -"Interesting," Rogier said. "May we take it that this is a sample of -the work you have been doing?" - -"You may," the old woman said flatly. - -"And--about the current crisis--your suggestions--" - -"My suggestion, gentlemen, is simple," Dr. Haenlingen said. "I can -see nothing except an Act of God which is going to stop the current -Confederation movement against us. The leak has occurred: we are done -for if it affects governmental policy. My suggestion, gentlemen, is -just this: pray." - -Unbelievingly, Willis echoed: "Pray?" - -"To whatever God you believe in, gentlemen," Dr. Haenlingen said. "To -whatever God permits you to remain masters on a slave world. Pray to -him--because nothing less than a God is going to stop the Confederation -from attacking this planet." - - * * * * * - - PUBLIC OPINION TWO - - Being an excerpt from a conversation between Mrs. Fellacia Gordon, - (Citizen, white female, age thirty-eight, occupation housewife, - residence 701-45 West 305 Street, New York, U. S. A., Earth) and - Mrs. Gwen Brandon (Citizen, oriental female, age thirty-six, - occupation housewife, residence 701-21 West 313 Street, New York, - U. S. A., Earth) on a Minimart bench midway between the two homes, - in the year of the Confederation two hundred and ten, on May - sixteenth, afternoon. - -MRS. GORDON: They've all been talking about it, how those poor things -have to work and work until they drop, and they don't even get paid for -it or anything. - -MRS. BRANDON: What do you mean, don't get paid? Of course they get -paid. You have to get paid when you work, don't you? - -MRS. GORDON: Not those poor things. They're slaves. - -MRS. BRANDON: Slaves? Like in the olden times? - -MRS. G.: That's what they say. Everybody's talking about it. - -MRS. B.: Well. Why don't they do something about it, then, the ones -that are like that? I mean, there's always something you can do. - -MRS. G.: They're just being forced to work until they absolutely drop, -is what I hear. And all for a bunch of people who just lord it over -them with guns and everything. You see, these beings--they're green, -not like us, but they have feelings, too-- - -MRS. B.: Of course they do, Fellacia. - -MRS. G.: Well. They don't have much education, hardly know anything. So -when people with guns come in, you see, there just isn't anything they -can do about it. - -MRS. B.: Why are they let, then? - -MRS. G.: Who, the people with guns? Well, nobody lets them, not just -like that. It's just like we only found out about it now. - -MRS. B.: I didn't hear a word on the news. - -MRS. G.: You listen tonight and you'll hear a word, Gwen dear. - -MRS. B.: Oh, my. That sounds like there's something up. Now, what have -you been doing? - -MRS. G.: Don't you think it's right, for these poor beings? I mean, no -pay and nothing at all but work, work, work until they absolutely drop? - -MRS. B.: What have you been doing? I mean, what can any one person do? -Of course it's terrible and all that, but-- - -MRS. G.: We talked it over. I mean the group I belong to, you know. On -Wednesday. Because all of us had heard something about it, you see, and -so we brought it up and discussed it. And it's absolutely true. - -MRS. B.: How can you be sure of a thing like that? - -MRS. G.: We found out-- - -MRS. B.: When it isn't even on the news or anything. - -MRS. G.: We found out that people have been talking from other places, -too. Downtown and even in the suburbs. - -MRS. B.: Oh. Then it must be--but what can you do, after all? It's not -as if we were in the government or anything. - -MRS. G.: Don't you worry about that. There's something you can do and -it's not hard, either. And it has an effect. A definite effect, they -say. - -MRS. B.: You mean collecting money? To send them? - -MRS. G.: Money won't do them any good. No. What we need is the -government, to do something about this. - -MRS. B.: It's easy to talk. - -MRS. G.: And we can get the government to do something, too. If there -are enough of us--and there will be. - -MRS. B.: I should think anybody who hears about these people, Fellacia-- - -MRS. G.: Well, they're not people, exactly. - -MRS. B.: What difference does that make? They need help, don't they? -And we can give them help. If you really have an idea? - -MRS. G.: We discussed it all. And we've been writing letters. - -MRS. B.: Letters? Just letters? - -MRS. G.: If a Senator gets enough letters, he has to do something, -doesn't he? Because the letters are from the people who vote for him, -you see? - -MRS. B.: But that means a lot of letters. - -MRS. G.: We've had everybody sending postcards. Fifteen or twenty each. -That mounts up awfully fast, Gwen dear. - -MRS. B.: But just postcards-- - -MRS. G.: And telephone calls, where that's possible. And visits. And -starting even more talk everywhere. Just everywhere. - -MRS. B.: Do you really think it's going to work? I mean, it seems like -so little. - -MRS. G.: It's going to work. It's got to. - -MRS. B.: What are they working at? I mean the--the slaves. - -MRS. G.: They're being forced, Gwen dear. Absolutely forced to work. - -MRS. B.: Yes, dear, but what at? What do they do? - -MRS. G.: I don't see where that makes any difference. Actually, nobody -has been very clear on the details. But the details don't matter, do -they, Gwen dear? The important thing is, we have to do something. - -MRS. B.: You're right, Fellacia. And I'll-- - -MRS. G.: Of course I'm right. - -MRS. B.: I'll start right in with the postcards. A lot of them. - -MRS. G.: And don't forget to tell other people. As many as you can -manage. We need all the help we can get--and so do the slaves. - - - - -10 - - -The days passed and the training went on, boring and repetitious as -each man tried to hammer into the obdurate head of an Albert just -enough about his own particular section of machinery so that he could -run it capably and call for help in case of emergencies. And, though -every man on Fruyling's World disliked every moment of the job, the -job was necessary, and went on: though they, too, were slaves to a -great master, none thought of rebelling. For the name of the master was -necessity, and economic law, and from that rule there are no rebels. -The days passed evenly and the work went slowly on. - -And then the training was finished. The new Alberts went on a daily -work-schedule, supervised only by the spy-sets and an occasional, -deliberately random visit from a master. The visits were necessary, -too: the Alberts had not the sophistication to react to a spy-set, -and personal supervision was needed to convince them they were still -being watched, they still had to work. A master came, a master saw them -working: that, they could understand. - -That--and the punishments. These went under the name of discipline, and -had three grades. The Belbis beams administered all three, by means of -a slight readjustment in the ray. It was angled as widely as possible, -and the dispersed beam, carefully controlled, acted directly on the -nervous system. - -Cadnan, troubled by Marvor's threats and by his own continuing -thoughts of Dara, was a trifle absent-minded and a little slower than -standard. He drew punishment twice, both times in the first grade only. -Albin administered both punishments, explaining to his partner Derbis -that he didn't mind doing it--and, besides, someone had to. - -Sometimes Dodd thought of Albin giving out discipline, and of all of -his life on Fruyling's World, in terms of a sign he had once seen. It -had been a joke, he remembered that clearly, but it was no more a joke -now than the words which flashed nearly ignored at the back of his -mind. Once or twice he had imagined this new sign hanging luridly over -the entire planet, posted there in the name of profit, in the name of -necessity, in the name of economic law. - - EVERYTHING NOT COMPULSORY IS FORBIDDEN - -The Alberts had to be trained. The Alberts had to be disciplined. The -men had to work with them. The men were forbidden to leave the planet. - -And who were the slaves? - -That, Dodd told himself cloudily, was far from an easy decision. - -Everything not compulsory was forbidden. Even the parties were -forbidden ... though it was always possible to find one. Dodd had -avoided them completely, afraid now of another breakdown, this time in -public. He had not seen Greta or called her (though he had her number -now): he had stayed alone as much as possible. - -He had no idea what had happened to him: and that added to his fright -and to his fear of a recurrence. - -But Albin, he knew, was having his fun, and so were others. The older -men, it seemed, devoted themselves to running the place, to raising -their families and giving good advice, to keeping production up and -costs down. - -The younger men had fun. - -Dodd had thought of marriage. (Now, it was no more than a memory, -a hope he might once have had. Now, the end had come: there was no -marriage. There was no life. Only the idea of hope remained.) He had -never had the vestige of a real female image in his mind. Sometimes he -had told himself to be more out-going, to meet more women--but, then, -how did a man meet women? - -He had fun. - -And Dodd had never enjoyed that particular brand of fun--Albin's brand. - -There was a Social, an acceptable party that would get him into no -trouble, in Building One. Dodd felt like lying down and letting the day -drain out of him into the comforting mattress there in his room. He -felt like relaxing in his own company--and that, he saw suddenly, was -going to mean drinking. - -He could see the future unroll before him. He could see the first -drink, and the tenth. Because drink was an escape, and he needed some -escape from the world he was pledged to uphold, the world of slavery. - -He could not afford to drink again. - -So, naturally, he was getting ready to go to the Social. Albin would -be there, undoubtedly, some of the older men would be there--and -a scattering of women would be there, too. (He remembered himself -thinking, long ago before such a party: Tonight might be the night.) He -shaved very carefully, faithful to memory, dressed in the best he could -find in his closet, and went out, heading for the elevator. - -Tonight might be the night--but it made no difference, not any longer. - -The trip to Sub-basement took a few whooshing seconds. He stepped out -into a lighted, oil-smelling underground corridor, took a deep breath -and headed off through gleaming passages toward another elevator at -the far end. Before he reached it he took a turning, and then another: -after a magnificently confusing trip through an unmarked labyrinth, he -found the elevator that led him up into the right section of Building -One. That was no special feat, of course: people had been doing the -like ever since the first housing-project days, on pre-Confederation -Earth. Dodd never gave it a second thought: his mind was busy. - -The phrase had floated to the forefront of his brain again, right -behind his eyes, lighting up with a regularity that was almost -soothing, almost reassuring. - -_This is the end._ - -_This is the end._ - -_This is the end._ - -When the elevator door slid open he was grim-faced, withdrawn, and he -stepped out like a threat into a cheerful, brightly dressed crowd of -people. - -"Here he is!" someone shouted. "I told you he'd be here ... I told -you...." Dodd turned but the words weren't meant for him. Down the -corridor a knot of men and women was surrounding a new arrival from -somewhere else, laughing and talking. As he stepped forward, his eyes -still on that celebration, a pathway opened up for him; he was in sober -black and he went through the corridor like a pencil-mark down paper, -leaving an open trail as he passed. - -A girl stopped him before he reached the door of the party room. She -stepped directly into his path and he saw her, and his expression began -to change, a little at a time, so that his eyes were, for long seconds, -happier than his face, and he looked like a young bull-terrier having a -birthday party. - -"Am I in your way?" the girl said, without budging an inch. She was -dressed in a bright green material that seemed to fade so near the -glowing happiness of her face. Her hair was brown, a quite ordinary -brown, and even in that first second Dodd noticed her hands. They were -long and slim, the thumbs pointed outward, and they were clasped at her -breast in a pose that should have been mocking, but was only pleasant. - -He couldn't think of anything to say. Finally he settled on: "My name's -Dodd," as the simplest and quickest way of breaking the ice that -surrounded him. - -"Very well, then, Mr. Dodd," the girl said--she _wouldn't_ go along -with polite forms--"am I in your way? Because if I am, I'm terribly -sorry." - -"You're not in my way at all," Dodd said heavily. "I just--didn't -notice you." And that was a lie, but there was nothing else to say. The -thousands of words that arranged themselves so neatly into patterns -when he was alone had sunk to the very bottom of his suddenly leaden -mind, almost burying the flashing sign. He felt as if he were growing -extra fingers and ears. - -"I noticed you," the girl said. "And I said to myself, I said: 'What -can a person as grim as all that be doing at a Social as gay as all -this?' So I stopped you to see if I could find out." - -Dodd licked his lips. "I don't know," he said. "I thought maybe I'd -meet somebody. I just thought I'd like to come." - -"Well," the girl said, "you've met somebody. And now what?" - -Dodd found some words, not many but enough. "I haven't met you yet," he -said in what he hoped was a bright tone. "What's your name?" - -The girl smiled, and Dodd saw for the first time that she hadn't been -smiling before. Her face, in repose, was light enough and to spare; -when she smiled, he wanted smoked glasses. "Very well," she said. "My -name is Fredericks. Norma Fredericks. And yours is--" - -"Dodd," he said. "John Dodd. They call me Johnny." - -"All right, John," she said. "You haven't been to many Socials, have -you? Because I'd have seen you--I'm at every one I can find time for. -You'd be surprised how many that is. Or maybe you wouldn't." - -There was no answer to the last half of that, so Dodd backtracked, -feeling a shocking relief that she hadn't been to the party at which -he and the other girl (whose name he could very suddenly no longer -remember) had made fools of themselves. He gave her an answer to the -first half of her question. "I haven't been to many Socials, no," he -said. "I--" He shrugged and felt mountainous next to her. "I stay by -myself, mostly," he said. - -"And now you want to meet people," Norma said. "All right, Johnny -Dodd--you're going to meet people!" She took him by the arm and -half-led, half-dragged him to the door of the party room. Inside, the -noise was like a blast of heat, and Dodd stepped involuntarily back. -"Now, that's no way to be," Norma said cheerfully, and piloted him -somehow inside, past a screaming crew of men and women with disposable -glasses in their hands, past an oblivious couple, two couples, four, -seven--past mountains and masses of color and noise and drink and -singing horribly off-key, not bothersome at all, loud and raucous -and somehow, Dodd thought wildly, entirely fitting. This was Norma's -element, he told himself, and allowed her to escort him to a far corner -of the room, where she sat him down in a chair, said: "Don't go away, -don't move," and disappeared. - -Dodd sat stock-still while the noise washed over him. People drifted by -but nobody so much as looked in his direction, and he saw neither Albin -nor that other forgettable girl, for all of which he was profoundly -grateful. He hadn't been to a Social since his last mistake, and -before that it had been--almost two years, he realized with wonder. -He'd forgotten just how much of everything it could be. He devoted a -couple of minutes to catching his breath, and then he just watched -people, drifting, standing, forming new combinations every second. He -thought (once) he saw Albin in the middle of a crowd near the door, -but he told himself he was probably mistaken. There was no one else he -recognized. He didn't grow tired, but sitting and watching, he found, -was exhilarating enough. - -In another minute, he was sure Norma wasn't going to come back. -Probably she had found someone else, he told himself in what he thought -was a reasonable manner. After all, he wasn't a very exciting person: -she had probably started off to get him a drink or something, with the -best of intentions, and met someone more interesting on the way. - -He had just decided that, after all, he couldn't really _blame_ her, -when she appeared at his side. - -"The punch," she announced, "is authentic. It is totally authentic. One -glass and you forget everything. Two, and you remember. Three--I don't -know what happens with the third glass yet. But I'm going to find out." - -He looked at her hands. She was holding two disposable glasses, full -of purple liquid. He took one from her and got up. "Well," he said, -"cheers." - -"Also down the hatch," she said. "And any other last year's slang you -happen to have around and want to get rid of." She lifted the glass. -"Here's to you, John Dodd," she said, and tipped the glass at her -lips--just that. He had never before seen anyone drink in just that -way, or drink so quickly. In seconds, before he had taken a sip (he -was so amazed, watching her), the glass was empty. "Whoosh," she said -clearly. "That ought to hold me for at least six minutes." - -Then she noticed that he hadn't started his own drink yet, so he took a -cautious sip. It tasted like grape juice, like wine, like--he couldn't -identify the ingredients, and besides he was watching her face. He took -another sip. - -"That's the way," Norma approved. "Soon you'll be drinking with the big -boys." - -And whether she was making fun of him or not hardly mattered. He felt -careless: maybe the drink had done it. "Why did you pick me?" he heard -himself say. "Why did you stop me, out of all those people?" - -She hesitated, and when she spoke it sounded like the truth, perhaps -too much like the truth to be true. "You looked like a puppy," she said -seriously. "Like a puppy trying to act fierce. Maybe I've always had a -weakness for dumb animals: no offense meant, John Dodd." - -The idea of being offended hadn't occurred to him, but he tried it out -experimentally and discovered he didn't like it. Before he could say -anything, though, Norma had become energetic again. - -"Enough analysis," she said abruptly, so strongly that he wasn't sure -what she meant by the words. "Sit down--sit down." He felt for the -chair behind him and sat. Norma cast a keen eye over the nearby crowds, -spotted an empty chair and went off for it. "Later," she told him, when -she had placed herself next to him, "we can join the crowd. For now, -let's get--let's get better acquainted. Johnny." - -"That's the first time you've called me Johnny," he said. - -"So it is," she said. Her face was a mask: and then it lightened. "What -do you work at, Johnny?" - -"I'm in Building Three," he said: it was easier to answer her than -anatomize the confusions he felt. "I work with smelting and quality -control--you know." He took another sip of his drink, and found to his -surprise that it was more than half gone. - -"With the Alberts," she said. "I know." - -He thought he read her look correctly. "I don't like it either," he -told her earnestly. "But somebody has to do it. I think--" - -"You don't have to get defensive," Norma said. "Relax. Enjoy yourself. -Join the party. Did I look at you as if you were a murderer of small -children?" - -"I just--don't like it," he said carefully. "I--well, there isn't -anything I can do about it, is there?" - -"I wouldn't know," she said, and then (had she made a decision? He -couldn't tell) she went on: "I'm in Psych, myself." - -"Psych? You?" - -"Psych, me," she said. "So I'm every bit as responsible as you are. And -maybe the reason there's nothing to do is--is because it's already been -done." - -"Already been done?" Dodd swallowed the rest of his drink in one gulp -and leaned toward her. Norma looked down at her own empty glass. - -"There are rumors," she said. "Frankly, I'd rather they didn't get -around. And if I hadn't had too much to drink--or something--I wouldn't -even be mentioning them. I'm sorry." - -"No," he said, surprising himself. "Tell me. What rumors?" - -Norma kept her eyes on her glass. "Nothing," she said, in a new, -strained voice. - -Dodd remained in the same position, feeling more tense than he could -ever remember having felt. "Tell me," he said. "Come on. If you've gone -this far--" - -"I suppose I have," she said. "I suppose I've gone too far now, haven't -I?" - -"You've got to tell me." - -"Yes," she said. "It's--they say the Confederation knows. I mean knows -what we're doing here. Officially. Everything." She dropped the glass -then and Dodd stooped ridiculously to pick it up: it lay between their -chairs. He felt the blood rushing to his head. There was pounding in -his temples. He got the glass and gave it to her but she took it -absently, as if she hardly noticed him. "Of course, it's just a rumor," -she said in a low voice. - -"The people know," Dodd said. "It's out. It's all out. About the -slavery. Is that what you mean?" - -She nodded. "I'm sorry." - -"But it's important--" he began, and stopped. He looked at his glass, -still empty. He took a breath, began again. "I work with them. I'm part -of it. It's important to me." - -"Just as important to me," Norma said. "Believe me, Johnny. I'm -responsible, too." - -"But you're in Psych," he said. "That's--morale. Nothing more than -morale, as far as I know--" - -She raised her head and looked him full in the face, her eyes like a -bright challenge. Her face was quite sober when she spoke. "I'm in -Psych, but it's more than morale, Johnny. We're--always thinking up new -ways to keep the little Alberts in their place. Put it that way. Though -nobody's really come up with an improvement on the original notion." - -"The original notion?" - -Now her smile gave light and no heat, a freak of nature. "The original -specific," she said. She paused for a second and the mockery in her -voice grew more broad. "That old-time religion," she said, drawing the -words out like fine, hot wire. "That old-time religion, Johnny Dodd." - - - - -11 - - -The work went on, for Cadnan as well as for the masters. Days passed -and he began to improve slightly: he received no further discipline, -and he was beginning to settle into a routine. Only thoughts of Dara -disturbed him--those, and the presence of Marvor, who was still -apparently waiting to make good his incomprehensible threat. - -Marvor had said he was going to leave, but he still appeared every -evening in the same room. Cadnan had hardly dared to question him, for -fear of being drawn into the plan, whatever it was: he could only wait -and watch and wish for someone to talk to. But, of course, there was no -one. - -And then, one day during the first part of his working shift, a master -came into the room, the very master who had gone with Cadnan through -his training. "You're Cadnan?" he asked. - -Cadnan said: "I am Cadnan." - -The master beckoned through the open door of Cadnan's working-room, and -two more masters appeared, strange ones, leading between them an elder. -The elder, Cadnan saw at once, had lived through many matings: the -green skin of his arms was turning to silver, and his eye was no longer -bright, but dulling fast with age. He looked at the working-room and at -the young Albert with blank caution. - -"This one is called Gornom," the master said. "He'll be with you when -you work. He's going to help you work--you can teach him all he has to -know. Just make sure you don't let him handle the buttons until we -give you the word. All right?" - -Cadnan understood. "All right," he said, and the three masters left the -room without more words. The door shut behind them and Gornom visibly -relaxed. Yet there was still wariness behind the old eye. "I work in -the field," he said after a second. "I am good worker in the field." - -Cadnan knew from gossip about the field: that was the place where the -metal lay. Alberts worked there, digging it up and bringing it to the -buildings where Cadnan and many like him took over the job. He nodded -slowly, bending his body from the waist instead of from the neck like -the masters, or Marvor. "If you are in the field," he said, "why do you -come here? This is not a place for diggers." - -"I am brought here," Gornom said. "I am an elder many times. What the -masters say, I do. Now they say I come here, and I come." - -Cadnan looked doubtful. "You are to work with me?" - -"So the masters say." That was unanswerable, and Cadnan accepted it. -He flicked a glance at the TV screen which showed him the smelting -process, and leaped for the buttons. After a few minutes of action he -was finished: there was a slight breathing-space. - -"I am to tell you what to do," he said. - -Gornom looked grave. "I see what it is you do," he said. "It is a -lesson. When you act for the masters, the great machines obey you." - -"It is true," Cadnan said. - -"This is the lesson," Gornom said slowly, as if it were truly -important. "We are shown the machines so that we may learn to be like -the machines. When the master tells us what to do, we are to do it. -There is nothing else." - -Cadnan thought about that. It made sense: it made a structure he could -understand, and it made the world a less confusing place. "You have -said a truth," he judged at last. - -"It is one of many truths," Gornom said. And that was an invitation, -Cadnan recognized. He hesitated no more than a second. - -"Where may I learn the others?" But Gornom didn't answer, and Cadnan's -breathing-space was over. He had to be back at the board, pushing -buttons, watching carefully. Gornom stood behind him, peering over his -shoulder with a cloudy eye. Neither said a word until the new spell of -work was over. Then Cadnan repeated his question. - -"It is not for all," Gornom said distantly. "One must be chosen." - -"You have come to me," Cadnan said. "You have been sent to me. Is this -what you call chosen?" - -It was the right answer, perhaps the only right answer. Gornom -pretended to consider the matter for a minute, but his mind was already -made up. "We are above you, on the floor over yours," he said. "When -our work is finished I will take you there." - -Cadnan imagined a parade of new truths, a store of knowledge that would -lay all his questions to rest and leave him, as after a meal, entirely -satisfied. He went back to work and contemplated the first of the -truths: he was to be like the machine. He promised himself he would try -to imitate the machine, doing only what the masters ordered. And for -the rest of that day, indeed, life seemed to make perfect calming sense. - - * * * * * - -But, after all, Gornom was only an elder and not a master. He could be -wrong. - -The doubt appeared at the end of the day, but by then Gornom had the -younger Albert in tow. They took the elevator up one flight and went -to Gornom's room: the novelty of all of this excited Cadnan so that -he nearly forgot his new doubts. They shrank perceptibly without -disappearing altogether. - -Gornom opened the door of the new room. Inside, Cadnan saw six elders, -sitting in a circle on the floor. The circle, incomplete, was open -toward the door, and all six big eyes were staring at the newcomers. -The floor was nearly bare: the leaves had been brushed into mounds that -lay in the corners. - -Without a word, Gornom sat in the circle and motioned Cadnan to a place -beside him. Moving slowly and uncertainly, Cadnan came forward and sat -down. There was a second of absolute silence. - -One of the other elders said: "You bring a new one to us?" - -"I bring a new one," Gornom said. - -The other elder, leaning forward from the waist, peered at Cadnan. His -eye was larger than normal, and glittering cold. Cadnan, awestruck, -neither spoke nor moved, and the elder regarded him for a time and then -said abruptly: "Not all are called to the truth." - -"He has been called," Gornom said. "He has been chosen." - -"How is he chosen?" - -Gornom explained. When he had finished, a silence thick as velvet -descended upon the room. Then, very suddenly, all the elders spoke at -once. - -"May the masters live forever." - -Cadnan, by this time, was nearly paralyzed with fright. He sat very -still. The elders continued, in a slow, leaden chorus: - -"May the masters live forever. - -"May the words live forever. - -"May the lessons live forever. - -"May the truths live forever." - -Then the velvet silence came down again, but the words rang through it -faintly until Gornom broke the spell with speech. - -"The young one has come to learn. He has come to know the truths." He -looked around at the others and then went on: "His name is Cadnan. He -wishes to have your names. Let him have your names." - -The elder who had spoken first identified himself as Lonak. The others -gave their names in order: Dalor, Puna, Grudoc, Burlog, Montun. Cadnan -stared with fascinated eyes at Puna, who was older than anyone he had -ever seen. His skin was nearly all white, and in the dim room it seemed -to have a faint shine. His voice was very high and thin, like a wind -sighing in tall tree-branches. Cadnan shivered, but didn't take his eye -from Puna until, as if at a signal, all the elders rose. Awkwardly, -then, Cadnan rose with them, again confused and still frightened. - -He saw Gornom raise his hands over his head and chant: "Tall are the -masters." - -All the others repeated the words. - -"Wise are the masters." - -Cadnan, this time, repeated the phrase with the elders. - -"Good are the masters." - -When the antiphon had been delivered Gornom waited a full second and -then fell prostrate to the floor. The others followed his example, -except for Cadnan, who, afraid to let himself fall on bare metal, -crouched down slowly instead. - -"Weak are the slaves," Gornom whispered. - -The answer was a whisper, too. - -"Small are the slaves." - -The others whispered. - -"They are like small ones all the days of their lives, and only the -masters are elders." - -"The masters are elders." - -"As the machine obeys," Gornom said, "so the slave obeys. As the tree -obeys, so the slave obeys. As the metal obeys, so the slave obeys. As -the ground obeys, so the slave obeys." - -"So the slave obeys." - -Then there was silence again, not as profound as before. Through it, -Cadnan could hear the others whispering, but he couldn't quite catch -their words. He was later told what praying was, though he never had a -chance to practice it. - -And then everyone returned to the original circle, and squatted. In -what was almost a normal tone Gornom said: "Here is our new one. He -must be told." - -Puna himself rose. "I will tell him." And Cadnan, frightened by the -very look of the elder, could do nothing but follow him as he beckoned -and went to a corner near a mound of leaves. The others, scattered, -were eating. Cadnan picked up a leaf, but Puna took it gently out of -his hand. - -"We do not eat until it is over," he said quietly. - -Cadnan accepted this without words, and Puna told him the legend. -During the entire tale, Cadnan, stock-still, didn't even think of -interrupting. At first his attention wandered to the leaves, but as -Puna's voice went on he listened more and more closely, and even his -fright began to leave him under the legend's fascination. - - * * * * * - -"Long ago, the masters come to the world, sent by the Great Elder. We -are no more than children. We do not work, we do nothing except eat and -sleep and live out our lives in the world. The Great Elder makes us the -gift of talking and the gift of trees, and he makes the rules of the -trees. - -"Then he does nothing more for us. First we must become more than -children, more than small ones. - -"For this he sends the masters. - -"The masters are good because they show us work and give us machines -that have power. Our power is over the masters because of the machines. -But we may not use such power. They are elder to us: they are wiser -than we are. Only when we become so wise we use power against them, -and in that day master and slave are one. In that day the Great Elder -returns to his small ones. - -"In this time there is the work, and the work makes us always more -like the masters. We live in the buildings like masters. We work with -machines like masters. We do what the masters say. Soon we are all the -same. - -"No one can tell when we are like masters in all things. We know of it -when the Great Elder returns to us. All must watch and wait for that -day. In this time, we only remember and tell ourselves the truths over -and over. There are many truths and some I can not speak. Here are the -others: - -"The masters are our elders. - -"The machines are under obedience to us while we obey the masters. - -"The Great Elder wishes our obedience to the masters. - -"If we disobey the masters the machines and the trees will not obey us, -and there will be no more work and no small ones. For this is the order -of the world: some obeying and some to be obeyed. It is visible and -plain. When the chain is broken all the chain breaks." - -Puna paused, and then repeated the last sentence. - -"When the chain is broken all the chain breaks." - -"It is true," Cadnan said excitedly. "It is true. Yet there is more -truth--" - -"There is," Puna said soberly. "We meet again in five days' time. I can -count five days, and so the others will know, and you will know. At -this next meeting you will be told more truths." His smile was thin and -distant. "Now eat." - -Cadnan reached numbly for a leaf and, without thinking, began to -nibble. The world had been set in order: he had no more questions now. -Instead, he felt empty spaces, waiting to be filled with the great -knowledge of Puna and of Gornom and all the others, at the next meeting. - -And at other meetings, after that.... - -He put that thought away: it was too much and too large. The one -certain thing was that in five days' time (whenever that was) he would -know more. In five days they would all meet again. - -He hoped five days was not too long. - -As matters turned out, of course, he need not have worried. The meeting -he was waiting for never happened. - -And, after that, there were no more meetings at all. - - * * * * * - - PUBLIC OPINION THREE - - Being excerpts from memo directives sent between executives of - Associated Metallic Products, Ltd., a corporation having its main - offices within Dome Two, Luna City, Luna, and associated offices on - all three inhabited planets, the memo directives being dated - between May fourteenth and May twenty-first, in the Year of the - Confederation two hundred and ten. - -TO: John Harrison - -FROM: Fredk. Ramsbotham - -RE: Metals supplies & shipment - -It having come to my attention that the process of metals shipment -is in danger because of a threat to the materials and procurement -divisions of AMP, Ltd., I wish to advise you, as current Chairman of -the Board, of the nature of the emergency, and request your aid in -drawing up plans to deal with it. - -According to reports from our outside operatives, and such statistical -checking as we have been able to use in a matter of this nature, -there exists a strong possibility that present procurement procedures -regarding our raw materials may at any moment be abrogated by act of -the Confederation government. The original motive for this action would -seem to be a rising tide of public unrest, sparked apparently by -chance disclosure of our procurement procedures. That the public unrest -may very soon reach the point at which Confederation notice, and hence -Confederation action, may be taken is the best judgment both of our -outside operatives and of our statistical department. - -In order to deal with this unprecedented emergency, it would be -advisable to have your thoughts on the matter. With these in hand.... - - * * * * * - -TO: Fred Ramsbotham - -FROM: John Harrison - -RE: Your memo May 14 - -My God, Fred, I haven't seen such a collection of verbiage since Latin -class. Why not say what you mean? People are calling the setup on -Fruyling's World slavery, and slavery is a nasty word. - -Let's get together for a talk--and what's with the high-sounding guff? -You sound sore about something: what? - - * * * * * - -TO: James Oliver Gogarty - -FROM: Leonard Offutt - -RE: Statistical findings - -... The situation is serious, J. O., and there's no getting around -it. If the Government has to take action there's only one way (given -current majorities) they're going to be able to move, and that's to -declare Fruyling's World a protectorate, or some such (get your lawyers -to straighten out the terminology: in plain and simple English, a ward -of the state), and "administer" the place for the best interests of the -natives. - -Get that: the natives. - -Never mind us, never mind AMP, never mind the metals we need. - -No, the Government will step in and take all that away from us in the -interests of a bunch of silly green-looking monsters who can barely -talk and can't, as near as I can see, think at all. - -Statistics doesn't give us much of a chance of heading them off. As a -matter of fact, any recommended course of action has better than a 50% -chance of making matters even worse. And if you don't think they _can_ -be worse, take a look at the attached sheet, which.... - - * * * * * - -TO: John Harrison - -FROM: Fredk. Ramsbotham - -RE: Your memo May 15 - -Have you never heard of the Confederation impounding records? Or these -memos, for instance? - - * * * * * - -TO: Fred Ramsbotham - -FROM: John Harrison - -RE: Your memo May 15 - -Have you never heard of AMP burning them, you silly damn fool? - -Now let's get together for a talk. - - * * * * * - -TO: James Oliver Gogarty - -FROM: Gregory Whiting and staff - -RE: Your memo May 17 - -Pressure put on Confederation executives and members of the Senate -might convince the Confederation that, without a fight, Fruyling's -World would not surrender to Confederation control. - -It might not be advisable to begin such a fight. Even with modern -methods of transport and training, the weapons gap between the -Confederation and Fruyling's World is a severe handicap. In other -words, J. O., if it came to a showdown the people here don't think we -stand a fair chance of coming out on top. - -You'd better rethink your position, then.... - - * * * * * - -TO: James Oliver Gogarty - -FROM: John Harrison - -RE: Fruyling's World - -Interoffice guff says you're planning definite moves on your own, -J. O., and against some opposition. - -I'm still Chairman of the Board around here, and I intend to use -power if I have to. The best advice I can get tells me your plans are -unadvisable. - -Get it through your head that this has nothing to do with the Board -elections. This is a serious matter. I can stop you, J. O., and don't -think I won't if it comes to that. But I don't want to make threats. - -There must be something we can do--but we're going to have to devote -more thought to the whole matter first. - - * * * * * - -TO: James Oliver Gogarty - -FROM: Leonard Offutt - -RE: Statistical findings - -Chances of such pressure succeeding are, according to derived figures, -37%. Chances of the pressure leading to actual attack on Fruyling's -World (see attached sheet) are 58%. - -We cannot advise.... - - * * * * * - -TO: Fredk. Ramsbotham - -FROM: James Oliver Gogarty - -RE: Attached statistical findings - -... Of course it's a risk, Frederick, but we're in the risk-taking -business, and we always were, as your father used to say, and mine too. -Between us, John is a cautious old man, and the rest of the Board is -beginning to appreciate that. By next year the entire situation may -have changed. - -I'm asking for your support, then, as a matter of practical politics. -In a risky matter like this one, support can make all the difference -between.... - - * * * * * - -TO: James Oliver Gogarty - -FROM: John Harrison - -RE: My memo May 19 - -J. O., I mean it. - -Now lay off. - - * * * * * - -TO: Williston Reed - -FROM: John Harrison - -RE: Current memo series - -As you know, I'm keeping you up to date whenever I have a minute -between appointments: a publicity chief ought to know everything, -inside as well as public-issue material, if only so he can be conscious -of what to hide. I've tried to work with you as well as I can, and if -there are delays in reporting, you'll understand that pressure of other -duties.... - -... The story behind all of this is simple enough. The takeover Gogarty -and Ramsbotham have been trying to pull is interfering with practical -business. Frankly, AMP'S competitors are happy enough to jump in and -stir the pot: I think they've been buying up Senators here and there -(for which there is, God knows, enough precedent; the entire Senate -hasn't been bought since the Dedrick mutiny forty years back but you -don't _need_ the entire Senate if you have a few key men, and I've -always thought Dedrick's lawyers were wasteful), and beyond what the -competition's been active in, there are always the fanatics. Freedom -for all--you know the sort of thing. - -Now the big danger is that if R. and G. succeed in keeping things -messed up the rest of the metals boys will step in, push the government -into the right moves, and kill Fruyling's World deader than Dedrick -himself. Which (according to the statistical breakdown) won't put us -into the bankruptcy courts, but will slide us from a first-or-second -spot to a ninth-or-tenth one. The big question is whether you'd rather -be a small frog in a big puddle or the reverse. Me, I'd rather be a big -frog in a big puddle than any other combination I can think of, and in -spite of everything I think I'm going to go on being just that. - -Fruyling's World has been around for a long time, but the current AMP -fight gives the competition the opportunity they need, and they're -pushing it. If we can weather the storm.... - -Well, I'm being gloomy. Of course we can weather the storm. I'll swing -Gogarty back, and that will leave Ramsbotham nowhere to go.... - - * * * * * - -TO: John Harrison - -FROM: Fredk. Ramsbotham - -RE: Fruyling's World - -... Support of the suggestion put forward by Mr. Gogarty at the last -Board meeting was not, believe me, given without grave consideration. - -Now that the matter has been decided, I hope we can all pull together -like team-mates, and "let the dead past bury its dead". I'm sure -that.... - - * * * * * - -TO: Fred Ramsbotham - -FROM: John Harrison - -RE: Your memo May 21 - -I'm worrying a little more about burying some of the currently -living--our own men on Fruyling's World. - -I've got to ask you to reconsider.... - - * * * * * - -TO: All news services, for immediate release - -FROM: Williston Reed - -As almost his first act on taking his position as Chairman of the Board -of Associated Metallic Products, Ltd., Frederick Ramsbotham today -issued a statement of policy regarding "interference by Confederation -governmental officials" in what he termed the "private business of AMP." - -Mr. Ramsbotham, whose recent election came as a surprise to many -shareholders, has stated his intention of "remaining firm in -continuance of present policies" regardless of what he described as -"threats" from Confederation officials. - -He states that his duty to shareholders of AMP must include protection -of the private and profit-making enterprise being carried on at -Fruyling's World, and that such private concerns are not "the business -of public government." - -As former Chairman of the Board, John Harrison was asked to comment -on the position taken by Mr. Ramsbotham. Mr. Harrison stated that he -disagreed with the particular stand taken by Mr. Ramsbotham in this -matter, but sympathized with his strong feelings of duty toward the -shareholders of the concern. - -Confederation response was reported to be "immediate and strong" by -sources high in the government, but as yet no final word has been -received regarding what action, if any, is contemplated.... - - * * * * * - -TO: Fredk. Ramsbotham - -FROM: John Harrison - -SUBJECT: The daily paper - -Now you've torn it. - -Unless you think we can make money selling weapons to be used against -our own people on Fruyling's World. - -I've sold out my shares as of this morning, Fred. I'm through. I think -you are, too--whether you know it or not just yet. - - - - -12 - - -"That old-time religion." - -Dodd heard the words echoing in his mind that night, and the next -night, and the next. All that she had said: - -"We set up a nice pie-in-the-sky sort of thing, all according to the -best theory, just the thing to keep the Alberts happy and satisfied and -working hard for us. It started right after the first setup here, and -by now I guess the Alberts think they invented it all by themselves, or -their Great Elder came down from a tree and told them." - -"It's horrible," he had said. - -"Of course it is." There was a silence. "But you said it yourself: what -can we do? We're here and we're stuck here." - -"But--" - -Norma didn't want to argue, but the argument went on in Dodd's mind, -and it still continued, circling in his mind like a buzzard. There -was nothing he could do about it, nothing Norma could do about it. He -avoided even the thought of seeing her for a few days, and then he -found himself making an excuse to go over to Building One. He met her -there, after lounging about for hours. - -And what she had disclosed to him, what they spoke of, made no -difference that he could see in what he felt. - -He was happy. Slowly he realized that he had hardly ever been happy -before. - -He even forgot, for a time, about the rumors, the threat of -Confederation troops that had hung over her words like a gray cloud: -all he could think of was Norma, and the terrible thing in which they -were both bound up. - -He told himself grimly that it would never have bothered Albin, for -instance. Albin would have had his fun with Norma, and that would have -been that. - -But it bothered Johnny Dodd. - -He was still worrying over it, and in spite of himself finding -happiness, when the escape came, and the end. - - - - -13 - - -"There's nothing to be done about it." Dr. Haenlingen delivered the -words and sat down rigidly behind her desk. Norma nodded, very slowly. - -"I know that," she said. "I started out--I started to do just what you -wanted. To talk to him, draw him out, find out just what he did feel -and what he planned." - -"And then something happened," Dr. Haenlingen said tightly. "I know." - -Norma paced to the window and looked out, but the day was gray: she saw -only her own reflection. "Something happened," she murmured. "I--guess -I had too much to drink. I wanted to talk." - -"So I understand," Dr. Haenlingen said. "And you talked. And--whatever -his situation--you managed to increase his tension rather than -understand or lessen it." - -Norma shook her head at the reflection. "I'm sorry." - -"I have often found," Dr. Haenlingen said, "that sorrow following an -action is worse than useless. It usually implies a request to commit -the same action again." - -"But I wouldn't--" Norma said, turning, and then stopped before the -calm gaze of the old woman. - -"No?" Dr. Haenlingen said. - -"I'll try to--" - -Dr. Haenlingen lifted a hand and brushed the words aside. "It doesn't -matter," she said. "I am beginning to see that it doesn't matter." - -"But--" - -"All we can do now is wait," Dr. Haenlingen said. "We are--outplayed." - -There was a little silence. Norma waited through it without moving. - -"Would you like to have a lesson in psychology?" Dr. Haenlingen said -in the graying room. "Would you like to learn a little, just a little, -about your fellow man?" - -Norma felt suddenly frightened. "What's wrong?" - -"Nothing is wrong," Dr. Haenlingen said. "Everything is moving along -exactly as might have been predicted. If we had known what the -Confederation planned, and exactly the timetable of their actions ... -but we did not, and could not. Norma, listen to me." - -The story she told was very simple. It took a fairly long time to tell. - - * * * * * - -Slavery takes a toll of the slaves (as the Confederation was beginning -to find out, as the idealists, the do-gooders, were beginning, however -slowly to realize). But it takes a toll of the masters, too. - -The masters can't quite rid themselves of the idea that beings which -react so much like people may really (in spite of everything, in spite -of appearance, in spite of laws and regulations and social practices) -be people, after all, in everything but name and training. - -And it just wouldn't be right to treat _people_ that way.... - -Slaves feel pain. In simple reciprocity, masters feel guilt. - -And because (according to the society, and the laws, and the -appearances, and the regulations) there was no need for guilt, the -masters of Fruyling's World had, like masters anywhere and any time, -buried the guilt, hidden it even from themselves, forbidden its -existence and forgotten to mention it to their thoughts. - -But the guilt remained, and the guilt demanded. - -Punishment was needed. - -"They're going to fight," Dr. Haenlingen said. "When the Confederation -attacks, they're going to fight back. It's senseless: even if we -won, the Confederation fleet could blockade us, prevent us getting a -shipment out, bottle us up and starve us for good. But they don't need -sense, they need motive, which is quite a different thing. They're -going to fight--both because they need the punishment of a really good -licking, and because fighting is one more way for them to deny their -guilt." - -"It seems complex," Norma said. - -"Everything is complex," Dr. Haenlingen said, "as soon as human beings -engage in it. The action is simple enough: warfare." - -"We've got to stop them--" - -Dr. Haenlingen went on as if she hadn't heard. "The action serves two -different, indeed two contradictory purposes. If you think that's -something rare in the actions of mankind, you must be more naive than -you have any right to be." - -"We've got to stop them," Norma said again. "Got to. They'll die--we'll -all die." - -"There is nothing to do," Dr. Haenlingen said. "We are outplayed--by -the Confederation, by our own selves. We are outplayed: there are no -moves left. There is nothing I can offer, nothing anyone can offer, -quite as attractive as the double gift of punishment and denial." -Shockingly, for the first time, the old woman sounded tired. Her voice -was thin in the gray room. "Nothing we can do, Norma. You're dismissed: -go back to work." - -"But you can't just give up--you can show them there aren't any real -reasons, show them they're not being rational--" - -"Oh, but they'll be rational," Dr. Haenlingen said in the same still -voice. "Wait for the rumors to start, Norma. Wait for them to begin -telling each other that the Confederation is going to kill them all -anyhow, take them back and hang them as war criminals--" - -"That's ridiculous!" - -"Perhaps." - -"Then--" - -"Rumors during a war are almost always ridiculous. That fact makes -no difference at all. They'll be believed--because they have to be -believed." - -Norma thought. "We can start counter-rumors." - -"Which would not be believed. They offer nothing, nothing that these -people want. Oh, yes, people can be changed--" Dr. Haenlingen paused. -"Given sufficient time and sufficient equipment, it is possible to make -anyone into anything, anything at all. But to change these people, to -make them act as we want--the time required is more than ten years, -Norma. And we haven't got ten years." - -"We've got to try," Norma said earnestly. - -"What we have got," Dr. Haenlingen said, "is more like ten days. -And there is nothing to do in ten days. The people have spoken. -Vox populi...." The eyes closed. There was a silence Norma waited, -astonished, horrified. "Perhaps it is necessary," Dr. Haenlingen's -voice said. "Perhaps ... we must wait. _Ich kann nicht anders...._" - -"What?" Norma asked. - -"Martin Luther," Dr. Haenlingen's voice said, remote and thin. "It -means: 'I can do nothing else.' He wrote it as his justification for -a course of action that was going to get him excommunicated, perhaps -killed." - -"But--" - -Dr. Haenlingen said nothing, did nothing. The body sat behind its desk -in the gray room. Norma stared, then turned and fled. - - - - -14 - - -The mixture of feelings inside Cadnan was entirely new to him, and -he couldn't control it very well. He found himself shaking without -meaning to, and was unable to stop himself. There was relief, first of -all, that it was all over, that he no longer had to worry about what -Marvor might have planned, or whether Marvor were going to involve -him. There was fright, seeing anyone carry through such a foolhardy, -almost impious idea in the teeth of the masters. And there was simple -disappointment, the disappointment of a novice theologue who has seen -his pet heretic slip the net and go free. - -For Cadnan had tried, earnestly, night after night, to convert Marvor -to the new truths the elders had shown him. They were luminously -obvious to Cadnan, and they set the world in beautiful order; but, -somehow, he couldn't get through to Marvor at all, couldn't express -the ideas he had well enough or convincingly enough to let Marvor see -how beautiful and true all of them really were. For a time, in fact, -he told himself with bitterness that Marvor's escape had really been -all his own fault. If he'd only had more talks with Marvor, he thought -cloudily, or if he'd only been able to speak more convincingly.... - -But regret is part of a subjunctive vocabulary. At least one writer -has noted that the subjunctive is the mark of civilization. This may -be true: it seems true: in Cadnan's case, at any rate, it certainly -was true. Uncivilized, he spent little time in subjunctive moods. -All that he had done, all that Marvor had done, was open to him, and -he remembered it often--but, once the bad first minutes were past, he -remembered everything with less and less regret. The mixture, as it -stood, was heady enough for Cadnan's untrained emotions. - -He had tried to talk to Marvor about the truths, of course. Marvor, -though, had been obstinately indifferent. Nothing made any impression -on his hardened, stubborn mind. And now he was gone. - -Dara had the news first. She came into their common room at the end of -the day, very excited, her hands still moving as if she were turning -handles in the refinery even after the close of work. Cadnan, still -feeling an attraction for her, and perceiving now that something had -disturbed her, stayed where he was squatting. Attraction for Dara, and -help given to her, might lead to mating, and mating was against the -rule. But Dara came to him. - -"Do you know what happens with Marvor?" she said. Her voice, always -quiet, was still as sweet to Cadnan as it had ever been. "He is gone, -and the masters do not know where." - -The mixture of emotions began: surprise and relief first, then regret -and disappointment, then fear, all boiling and bubbling inside him like -a witch's stew. He spoke without thinking: "He is gone to break the -chain of obedience. He is gone to find others who think as he thinks." - -"He is escaped," Dara said. "It is the word the masters use, when they -speak of this." - -"It happens before now," Cadnan told her. "There are others, whom he -joins." - -Dara shut her eye. "It is true. But I know what happens when there is -an escape. In the place where my work is, there is one from Great Bend -Tree. She tells me of what happens." - -Dara fell silent and Cadnan watched her nervously. But he had no chance -to speak: she began again, convulsively. - -"When this other escapes it is from a room of Great Bend Tree." -Cadnan nodded: he and Dara were of Bent Line Tree, and hence in a -different room. The segregation, simple for the masters, was handy and -unimportant, and so it was used. Cadnan thought it natural: every tree -had its own room. - -"Do they find the one who escapes?" he asked. - -"They find him. The masters come in and they punish the others from the -room." - -Precedent was clearly recognizable, even though it made no sense. -Those who had not escaped surely had no reason to be punished, Cadnan -thought. But what the masters had done to Great Bend Tree they would do -to Bent Line Tree. - -Everyone would be punished. - -With a shock he realized that "everyone" included Dara. - -He heard himself speak. "You must go." - -Dara looked at him innocently. "Go?" she said. - -"You must go as Marvor has gone. The masters do not take you for -punishment if you go." - -"There is nothing for me to do," she said, and her eye closed. "No. I -wait for you, but only to tell you this: there is nothing I can do." - -"Marvor is gone," Cadnan said slowly. "You, too, can go. Maybe the -masters do not find you. If you stay you are punished. If you go and -they do not find you there is no punishment for you." It amazed him -that she could not see so clear a point. - -"Then all can go," she said. "All can escape punishment." - -Cadnan grunted, thinking that over. "Where one goes," he said at last, -"one can go. Maybe many can not go." - -Her answer was swift. "And you?" - -"I stay here," he said, trying to sound as decisive as possible. - -Dara turned away. "I do not listen to your words," she said flatly. "I -do not hear you or see you." - -Cadnan hissed in anguish. She had to understand.... "What do I say that -is wrong? You must--" - -"You speak of my going alone," she said. "But that is me, and no more. -What of the others?" - -"Marvor," Cadnan said after a second. "He is to come and aid them. He -tells me this. We join him and come back with him, away from here, to -where he stays now. Then none of us are punished." He paused. "It will -be a great punishment." - -"I know," Dara said. "Yet one does not go alone." - -Her voice was so low that Cadnan could barely hear it, but the words -were like sharp stones, stabbing fear into his body. For the first -time, he saw clearly exactly what she was driving at. And after a long -pause, she spoke again. - -"Where one goes, two may go. Where Marvor goes, two may follow, one to -lead the other." - -"One goes alone," Cadnan said, feeling himself tremble and trying to -control it. "You must go." - -It seemed a long time before she spoke again, and Cadnan held himself -tightly, until his muscles began to ache. - -"We go together," she said at last "Two go where one has gone. Only so -do I leave at all." - -It was an ultimatum, and Cadnan understood what was behind it. But an -attraction between Dara and himself ... he said: "There is the rule of -the tree," but it was like casting water on steel. - -"If we leave here," Dara said, "why think of a smaller rule?" - -Cadnan tried to find words, but there were no words. She had won, -and he knew it. He could not let Dara stay behind to draw a great -punishment, possibly even to die, to be no more Dara. And there was no -way of forcing her to go and escape that fate--no way except to go with -her. - -"We must wait until they sleep," Dara said in a sudden return to -practicality. "Then we go." - -Cadnan looked around at the huddled, vaguely stirring forms of his -companions. Fear was joined by a sort of sickness he had never known -before. He was a slave, and that was good--but once outside where -would he find work, or food, or a master? Where there was no master, -Cadnan told himself, there was no slave: he was nothing, nameless, -non-existent. - -But there was neither word nor action for him now. He tried once more -to argue but his words were parried with a calm tenacity that left -no room for discussion. In the end he was ready to do what he had to -do--had to do in order, simply, to save Dara. There was no other -reason: he needed none. - -He had heard of the attraction of male for female, though some did not -experience it until the true time of mating. He had not until that -moment known how strong the attraction could be. - - * * * * * - -The waiting, though it seemed like positive days, didn't take long. The -others in the room fell asleep, by habit, one by one, and soon Dara and -Cadnan were the only ones left awake. Neither was tempted to sleep: -their own terror and their decision kept them very effectively alert. - -Cadnan said: "If the masters see us?" - -Dara turned on him a face that seemed completely calm. "They do not see -us," she said flatly. "Now do not speak." - -They rose and, silently, went to the door. The door opened just as -quietly, and shut once again behind them. - -The corridor was filled with watching eyes, Cadnan felt: but there were -no masters in evidence. They stood for a second, waiting, and then Dara -started down toward the big room at the end, her feet silent on the -floor, and Cadnan followed her. - -No masters were visible. There should have been guards, but the guards -might have been anywhere: one escape had hardly served to alert a lazy, -uninterested group who performed their duties out of no more than -habit. Wherever the guards were resting, they were not in the corridor: -everything went smoothly. It was smoother than Cadnan was willing to -believe. - -Soon, though, they were actually in the great lobby of the building. -It, too, was dark and empty. They stood dwarfed by the place, the -gigantic doors that led to freedom no more than a few feet away. - -Cadnan kept telling himself that where Marvor had gone he, too, could -go. But Marvor had had a plan, and Cadnan had none. - -Yet they were safe--so far, so far. They walked toward the door now, -a step at a time. Each step seemed to take an hour, a full day. Dara -walked ahead, straight and tall: Cadnan caught up with her, and she put -out her hand. There was no more than an instant of hesitation. He took -the hand. - -That pledged them to each other, until the time of mating. But what was -one more law now? - -Another step. Another. - -Cadnan, in the silence, was suddenly tempted to make a noise, any sort -of noise--but it seemed impossible to create sound. The quiet dimness -wrapped him like a blanket. He took another step. - -Mating, he thought. If the chain of obedience was broken would the -trees refuse to obey, in their turn? Puna had said so, and it was true. -And if the trees refused to obey there would be no mating.... - -Yet Dara would be safe. That was the important thing. One thing at a -time. - -Another step. - -And then, at last, the door. - -Cadnan pushed at it, and it opened--and then there was sound, plenty of -sound, more sound than he could have imagined, sound to fill the great -lobby, to fill the entire building with rocking, trembling agonies of -noise! - -There was an alarm-bell, to be exact, an alarm-buzzer, combinations and -solo cadenzas. The guards were, after all, no more than dressing: the -automatic machinery never slept, and it responded beautifully and with -enthusiasm. - -Cadnan and Dara ran crazily out into the darkness. The building fell -behind them and the jungle was ahead: still they ran, but Cadnan felt -the ground, bumpy instead of smooth, and stumbled once, nearly falling. -He saw Dara ahead of him. Getting up and beginning again was automatic: -panic beat at him. The noise grew and grew. His feet moved, his heart -thudded.... - -And then the lights went on. - -Automatic sweep searchlights were keyed in. The machinery continued to -respond. - -Cadnan found himself suddenly struck blind: ahead of him, Dara made a -single, lonely, terrified sound that overrode all the alarms. - -Cadnan tried to shout: "We must run! In the dark the masters cannot -see--" - -But, of course, by then it was too late to move. - -The masters were all around them. - -The escape was over. - - - - -15 - - -Of course there was Norma, Dodd told himself. - -There was Norma to make everything worth-while--except that Norma -needed something, too, and he couldn't provide it. No one could provide -it, not as long as no one was allowed off-planet. And it was quite -certain, Dodd told himself gloomily, that the restrictions that had -been in force yesterday were going to look like freedom and carefree -joy compared with the ones going into effect tomorrow, or next week. - -If, of course, there was going to be a tomorrow ... that, he thought, -was always in doubt. He managed sometimes to find a sort of illusory -peace in thinking of himself as dead, scattered into component atoms, -finished, forever unconscious, no longer wanting anything, no longer -seeing the blinking words in his mind. Somewhere in his brain a small -germ stirred redly against the prospect, but he tried to ignore it: -that was no more than brute self-preservation, incapable of reasoning. -That was no more than human nature. - -And human nature, he knew with terror, was about to be overthrown once -more. - -It was only human, after all, to find the cheapest way to do necessary -work. It was only human to want the profits high and the costs low. -It was only human to look on other races as congenitally inferior, as -less-than-man in any possible sense, as materials, in fact, to be used. - -That was certainly human: centuries of bloody experience proved it. -But the Confederation didn't want to recognize human nature. The -Confederation didn't like slavery. - -The rumor he'd heard from Norma was barely rumor any more: instead, it -had become the next thing to an officially announced fact. Everyone -knew it, even if next to no one spoke of it. The Confederation was -going to send ships--had probably sent ships already. There was going -to be a war. - -The very word "war" roused that red spark of self-preservation. It was -harder, Dodd had found, to live with hope than to live without it: it -was always possible to become resigned to a given state of affairs--but -not if you kept thinking matters would improve. So he stamped on the -spark, kept it down, ignored it. You had to accept things, and go on -from there. - -It was too bad Norma didn't know that. - -He'd tried to tell her, of course. They'd even been talking, over in -Building One, on the very night of the near-escape. He'd explained it -all very clearly and lucidly, without passion (since he had cut himself -off from hope he found he had very few passions of any kind left, and -that made it easy); but she hadn't been convinced. - -"As long as there's a fighting chance to live, I want to live," she'd -said. "As long as there's any chance at all--the same as you." - -"I know what I want," he told her grimly. - -"What?" she asked, and smiled. "Do you like what you're doing? Do you -like what I'm doing--what the whole arrangement is here?" - -He shrugged. "You know I don't." - -"Then get out of it," she said, still smiling. "You can, you know. -It's easy. All you have to do is stop living--just like that! No more -trouble." - -"Don't be sil--" - -"It can be done," she went on flatly. "There are hundreds of ways." -Then the smile again. "But you'd rather live, Johnny. You'd rather -live, even this way, being a slaver, than put an end to it and to -yourself." - -He paused. "It's not the same thing." - -"No," she said. "This way, you'd have to do the killing yourself. When -the ships come, you can let them do it for you, just sit and wait for -someone to kill you. Like a cataleptic. But you won't, Johnny." - -"I will," he said. - -She shook her head, the smile remaining. Her voice was quiet and calm, -but there was a feeling of strain in it: there was strain everywhere, -now. Everyone looked at the sky, and saw nothing: everyone listened for -the sound of engines, and there were no engines to hear. "Catalepsy -is a kind of death, Johnny. And you'll have to inflict that much on -yourself. You won't do it." - -"You think I--" He stopped and swallowed. "You think I like living this -way, don't you?" - -"I think you like living," Norma said. "I think we all do, no matter -how rough it gets. No matter how it grates on the nerves, or the flesh, -of the supersensitive conscience. And I know how you feel, Johnny, I -do--I--" She stopped very suddenly. - -He heard his voice say: "I love you." - -There was a silence. - -"Johnny," she said, and her hands reached out for him blindly. He saw, -incredibly, tears like jewels at the corners of her eyes. "Johnny--" - -It was at that moment that the alarm-bell rang. It was heard only -faintly in Building One, but that didn't matter. Dodd knew the -direction, and the sound. He turned to go, for a second no more than a -machine. - -Norma's voice said: "Escape?" - -He came back to her. "I--the alarm tripped off. This time they must -have tried it through the front door, or a window. The last one must -have tunnelled through--" - -He had to leave her. Instead he stood silently for a second. She said -nothing. - -"There are spots the steel's never covered," he said. "You can tunnel -through if you're lucky." A pause. "I--" - -"It's all right, Johnny," she said. - -"Norma--" - -"It's all right I understand. It's all right." - -Her voice. He hung on to it as he turned and walked away, found the -elevator, started away from the room, the Building where she was, -started off to do his duty. - -His duty as a slaver. - - * * * * * - -The night was long, so long it could have been the night before the end -of the world, the universe drawing one last deep breath before blowing -out the candles and returning, at last, to peace and darkness and -silence. Dodd spent it posted as one of the guards around the two cells -where the Alberts were penned. - -He had plenty of time to think. - -And, in spite of Norma, in spite of everything, he was still sure of -one thing. Because he was a slaver, because he acted, still, as a -slaver and a master, hated by the Confederation, hated by the Alberts, -hated by that small part of himself which had somehow stayed clean of -the foulness of his work and his life, because of all that.... - -It was going to be very easy to die. - - * * * * * - - PUBLIC OPINION FOUR - - Being an excerpt from a directive issued by the Executive and his - Private Council, elected and confirmed by the Confederation, and - upheld by majority vote of the Senate: the directive preserved in - Confederation Archives, and signed under date of May 21 in the year - two hundred and ten of the Confederation. - -... It is therefore directed that sufficient ships be fitted out -with all modern armaments, said fitting to be in the best judgment -of the competent and assigned authorities, and dispatched without -delay toward the planet known as Fruyling's World, both to subdue any -armed resistance to Confederation policy, and to affirm the status of -Fruyling's World as a Protectorate of the Confederation, subject to -Confederation policy and Confederation judgment. - -An act of this nature cannot be undertaken without grave thought and -consideration. We affirm that such consideration has been given to this -step. - -It is needless to have fear as to the outcome of this action. No -isolated world can stand against, not only the might, but the moral -judgment of the Confederation. Arms can be used only as a last resort, -but times will come in the history of peoples when they must be so -used, when no other argument is sufficient to force one party to cease -and desist from immoral and unbearable practices. - -In accordance with the laws of the Confederation, no weapons shall be -used which destroy planetary mass. - -In general, Our efforts are directed toward as little blood-shed -as possible. Our aim is to free the unfortunate native beings of -Fruyling's World, and then to begin a campaign of re-education. - -The fate of the human beings who have enslaved these natives shall be -left to the Confederation Courts, which are competent to deal in such -matters by statute of the year forty-seven of the Confederation. We -pledge that We shall not interfere with such dealings by the Courts. - -We may further reassure the peoples of the Confederation that no -further special efforts on their part will be called for. This is not -to be thought of as a war or even as a campaign, but merely as one -isolated, regretted but necessary blow at a system which cannot but be -a shock to the mind of civilized man. - -That blow must be delivered, as We have been advised by Our -Councillors. It shall be delivered. - -The ships, leaving as directed, will approach Fruyling's World, leaving -the FTL embodiments and re-entering the world-line, within ten days. -Full reports will be available within one month. - -In giving this directive, We have been mindful of the future status of -any alien beings on worlds yet to be discovered. We hereby determine, -for ourselves and our successors, that nowhere within reach of the -Confederation may slavery exist, under any circumstances. The heritage -of freedom which We have protected, and which belongs to all peoples, -must be shared by all peoples everywhere, and to that end we direct Our -actions, and Our prayers. - -Given under date of May 21, in the year two hundred and ten of the -Confederation, to be distributed and published everywhere within the -Confederation, under Our hand and seal: - - Richard Germont - by Grace of God Executive - of the Confederation - together with - His Council in judgment assembled - all members subscribing thereto. - - - - -16 - - -The room had no windows. - -There was an air-conditioning duct, but Cadnan did not know what such -a thing was, nor would he have understood without lengthy and tiresome -explanations. He didn't know he needed air to live: he knew only that -the room was dark and that he was alone, boxed in, frightened. He -guessed that somewhere, in another such room, Dara was waiting, just as -frightened as he was, and that guess made him feel worse. - -Somehow, he told himself, he would have to escape. Somehow he would -have to get to Dara and save her from the punishment, so that she did -not feel pain. It was wrong for Dara to feel pain. - -But there was no way of escape. He had crept along the walls, pushing -with his whole body in hopes of some opening. But the walls were metal -and he could not push through metal. He could, in fact, do nothing -at all except sit and wait for the punishment he knew was coming. He -was sure, now, that it would be the great punishment, that he and -Dara would be dead and no more. And perhaps, for his disobedience, he -deserved death. - -But Dara could not die. - -He heard himself say her name, but his voice sounded strange and he -barely recognized it. It seemed to be blotted up by the darkness. And -after that, for a long time, he said nothing at all. - -He thought suddenly of old Gornom, and of Puna. They had said there -was an obedience in all things. The slaves obeyed, the masters obeyed, -the trees obeyed. And, possibly, the chain of obedience, if not -already broken by Marvor's escape and what he and Dara had tried to -do, extended also to the walls of his dark room. For a long time he -considered what that might mean. - -If the walls obeyed, he might be able to tell them to go. They would -move and he could leave and find Dara. Since it would not be for -himself but for Dara, such a command might not count as an escape: the -chain of obedience might work for him. - -This complicated chain of reasoning occupied him for an agonized time -before he finally determined to put it to the test. But, when he did, -the walls did not move. The door, which he tried as soon as it occurred -to him to do so, didn't move either. With a land of terror he told -himself that the chain of obedience had been broken. - -That thought was too terrible for him to contemplate for long, and -he began to change it, little by little, in his mind. Perhaps (for -instance) the chain was only broken for him and for Marvor: perhaps it -still worked as well as ever for all those who still obeyed the rules. -That was better: it kept the world whole, and sane, and reasonable. But -along with it came the picture of Gornom, watching small Cadnan sadly. -Cadnan felt a weight press down on him, and grow, and grow. - -He tried the walls and the door again, almost mechanically. He felt his -way around the room. There was nothing he could do. But that idea would -not stay in his mind: there had to be something, and he had to find -it. In a few seconds, he told himself, he would find it. He tried the -walls again. He was beginning to shiver. In a few seconds, only a few -seconds, he would find the way, and then.... - -The door opened, and he whirled and stared at it. The sudden light -hurt his eye, but he closed it for no more than a second. As soon as -he could he opened it again, and stood, too unsure of himself to move, -watching the master framed in the doorway. It was the one who was -called Dodd. - -Dodd stared back for what seemed a long time. Cadnan said nothing, -waiting and wondering. - -"It's all right," the master said at last. "You don't have to be -afraid, Cadnan. I'm not going to hurt you." He looked sadly at the -slave, but Cadnan ignored the look: there was no room in him for more -guilt. - -"I am not afraid," he said. He thought of going past Dodd to find Dara, -but perhaps Dodd had come to bring him to her. Perhaps Dodd knew where -she was. He questioned the master with Dara's name. - -"The female?" Dodd asked. "She's all right. She's in another room, just -like this one. A solitary room." - -Cadnan shook his head. "She must not stay there." - -"You don't have to worry," Dodd said. "Nobody's doing anything to her. -Not right now, anyhow. I--not right now." - -"She must escape," Cadnan said, and Dodd's sadness appeared to grow. He -pushed at the air as if he were trying to move it all away. - -"She can't." His hands fell to his sides. "Neither can you, Cadnan. -I'm--look, there's a guard stationed right down the corridor, watching -this door every second I'm here. There are electronic networks in the -door itself, so that if you manage somehow to open it there'll be an -alarm." He paused, and began again, more slowly. "If you go past me, -or if you get the door open, the noise will start again. You won't get -fifteen feet." - -Cadnan understood some of the speech, and ignored the rest: it wasn't -important. Only one thing was important: "She can not die." - -Dodd shook his head. "I'm sorry," he said flatly. "There's nothing -I can do." A silence fell and, after a time, he broke it. "Cadnan, -you've really messed things up. I know you're right--anybody knows it. -Slavery--slavery is--well, look, whatever it is, the trouble is it's -necessary. Here and now. Without you, without your people, we couldn't -last on this world. We need you, Cadnan, whether it's right or not: and -that has to come first." - -Cadnan frowned. "I do not understand," he said. - -"Doesn't matter," Dodd told him. "I can understand how you feel. We've -treated you--pretty badly, I guess. Pretty badly." He looked away with -what seemed nervousness. But there was nothing to see outside the door, -nothing but the corridor light that spilled in and framed him. - -"No," Cadnan said earnestly, still puzzled. "Masters are good. It is -true. Masters are always good." - -"You don't have to be afraid of me," Dodd said, still looking away. -"Nothing I could do could hurt you now--even if I wanted to hurt you. -And I don't, Cadnan. You know I don't." - -"I am not afraid," Cadnan said. "I speak the truth, no more. Masters -are good: it is a great truth." - -Dodd turned to face him. "But you tried to escape." - -Cadnan nodded. "Dara can not die," he said in a reasonable tone. "She -would not go without me." - -"Die?" Dodd asked, and then: "Oh. I see. The other--" - -There was a long silence. Cadnan watched Dodd calmly. Dodd had turned -again to stare out into the hallway, his hands nervously moving at his -sides. Cadnan thought again of going past him, but then Dodd turned and -spoke, his head low. - -"I've got to tell you," he said. "I came here--I don't know why, but -maybe I just came to tell you what's happening." - -Cadnan nodded. "Tell me," he said, very calmly. - -Dodd said: "I--" and then stopped. He reached for the door, held it -for a second without closing it, and then, briefly, shook his head. -"You're going to die," he said in an even, almost inhuman tone. "You're -both going to die. For trying to escape. And the whole of your--clan, -or family, or whatever that is--they're going to die with you. All -of them." It was coming out in a single rush: Dodd's eyes fluttered -closed. "It's my fault. It's our fault. We did it. We...." - -And the rush stopped. Cadnan waited for a second, but there was no -more. "Dara is not to die," he said. - -Dodd sighed heavily, his eyes still closed. "I'm--sorry," he said -slowly. "It's a silly thing to say: I'm sorry. I wish there was -something I could do." He paused. "But there isn't. I wish--never -mind. It doesn't matter. But you understand, don't you? You understand?" - -Cadnan had room for only one thought, the most daring of his entire -life. "You must get Dara away." - -"I can't," Dodd said, unmoving. - -Cadnan peered at him, half-fearfully. "You are a master." One did not -give orders to masters, or argue with them. - -But Dodd did not reach for punishment. "I can't," he said again. "If I -help Dara, it's the jungle for me, or worse. And I can't live there. I -need what's here. It's a matter of--a matter of necessity. Understand?" -His eyes opened, bright and blind. "It's a matter of necessity," he -said. "It has to be that way, and that's all." - -Cadnan stared at him for a long second. He thought of Dara, thought of -the punishment to come. The master had said there was nothing to do: -but that thought was insupportable. There had to be something. There -had to be a way.... - -There was a way. - -Shouting: "Dara!" he found himself in the corridor, somehow having -pushed past Dodd. He stood, turning, and saw another master with a -punishment tube. Everything was still: there was no time for anything -to move in. - -He never knew if the tube had done it, or if Dodd had hit him from -behind. Very suddenly, he knew nothing at all, and the world was blank, -black, and distant. If time passed he knew nothing about it. - -When he woke again he was alone again: he was back in the dark and -solitary room. - - - - -17 - - -The office was dim now, at evening, but the figure behind the desk was -rigid and unchanging, and the voice as singular as ever. "Do what you -will," Dr. Haenlingen said. "I have always viewed love as the final -aberration: it is the trap which lies in wait for the unwary sane. But -no aberration is important, any more...." - -"I'm trying to help him--" Norma began. - -"You can't help him, child," Dr. Haenlingen said. Her eyes were closed: -she looked as if she were preparing, at last, for death. "You feel too -closely for him: you can't see him clearly enough to know what help he -needs." - -"But I've got to--" - -"Nothing is predicated on necessity but action," Dr. Haenlingen said. -"Certainly not success." - -Norma went to the desk, leaned over it, looking down into the still, -blank face. "It's too soon to give up," she said tensely. "You're just -backing down, and there's no need for that yet--" - -"You think not?" The face was still. - -"There are lots of rumors, that's true," Norma said. "But--even if the -worst comes to the worst--we have time. They aren't here yet. We can -prepare--" - -"Of course," the voice said. "We can prepare--as I am doing. There is -nothing else for us, not any more. Idealism has taken over, and what we -are and what we've done can go right on down the drain. Norma, you're -a bright girl--" - -"Too bright to sit around and do nothing!" - -"But you don't understand this. Maybe you will, some day. Maybe I'll -have a chance--but that's for later. Not now." - -Norma almost reached forward to shake some sense into the old woman. -But she was Dr. Haenlingen, after all-- - -Norma's hand drew back again. "You can't just sit back and wait for -them to come!" - -"There is nothing else to do." The words were flat, echoless. - -"Besides," Norma said desperately, "they're only rumors--" - -She never finished her sentence. The blast rocked the room, and the -window thrummed, steadied and then suddenly tinkled into pieces on the -carpeted floor. - -Norma was standing erect. "What's that?" - -Dr. Haenlingen had barely moved. The eyes, in dimness, were open now. -"That, my dear," the old woman said, "was your rumor." - -"My--" - -The blast was repeated. Ornaments on the desk rattled, a picture came -off the far wall and thudded to the carpet. The air was filled with a -fine dust and, far below, Norma could hear noise, a babel of voices.... - -"They're here!" she screamed. - -Dr. Haenlingen sat very still, saying nothing. The eyes watched, but -the voice made no comment. The hands were still, flat on the desk. -Below, the voices continued: and then Dr. Haenlingen spoke. - -"You'd better go," the calm voice said. "There will be others needing -help--and you will be safer underground, in any case." - -"But you--" Norma began. - -"I may be lucky," Dr. Haenlingen said. "One of their bombs may actually -kill me." - -Her mouth open in an unreasoning accession of horror, Norma turned and -fled. The third blast rattled the corridor as she ran crazily along it. - - - - -18 - - -Dodd stayed on his post because he had to: as a matter of fact, he -hardly thought of leaving, or of doing anything at all. Minutes passed, -and he stood in the hallway, quite alone. The other guard had spoken to -him when Cadnan had been picked up and tossed back into solitary, but -Dodd hadn't answered, and the guard had gone back to his own post. Dodd -stood, hardly thinking, and waiting--though he could not have said what -for. - -_This is the end._ He had hit Cadnan: in those few seconds he had acted -just as a good slaver was supposed to act. And that discovery shocked -him: even more than his response during the attempted escape, it showed -him what he had become. - -He had thought the words he used had some meaning. Now he knew they had -next to none: they were only catch-phrases, meant to make him feel a -little better. He was a slaver, he had been trained as a slaver, and he -would remain a slaver. What was it Norma had said? - -"You'd rather live...." - -It was true, it was all true. But there was (he told himself dimly) -still, somewhere, hope: the Confederation would come. When they did, he -would die. He would die at last. And death was good, death was what he -wanted.... - -No matter what Norma had told him, death was what he wanted. - -He was still standing, those few thoughts expanding and filling his -mind like water in a sponge, when the building, quite without warning, -shook itself. - -He heard the guard at the end of the corridor shouting. The building -shook again, underneath and around him, dancing for a second like a man -having a fit. Then he caught the first sounds of the bombardment. - -"Norma!" He heard himself scream that one word over the sounds of blast -and shout, and then he was out of the corridor, somehow, insanely, -running across open ground. Behind him the alarms attached to the front -doors of Building Three went off, but he hardly heard that slight -addition to the uproar. God alone knew whether the elevators would be -working ... but they had to be, they had to stand up. After he found -Building One (he could hardly trust the basement levels, choked by -panic-stricken personnel from everywhere) he had to get an elevator and -find Norma.... He had to find Norma. - -Overhead there was a flash and a dull roar. Dodd stared before him at -a tangled, smoking mass of blackness. A second before, it had been a -fringe of forest. Smoke coiled round toward him and he turned and ran -for the side of Building Three. There were other sounds behind him, -screams, shouts.... - -As he passed the Building the ground shook again and there was a -sudden rise in the chorus of screams. He smelled acrid smoke, but -never thought of stopping: the Building still stood gleaming in the -bombardment flashes, and he went round the corner, behind it, and found -himself facing the dark masses of One and Two, five hundred feet away -over open ground. - -As he watched there was a flash too bright for his eyes: he blinked and -turned away, gasping. When he could look again a piece of Building Two -was gone--looking, from five hundred feet distance, as if it had been -bitten cleanly from the top, taking about four floors from the right -side, taking the topmast, girders, and all ... simply gone. - -But that was Building Two, not Building One. Norma was still safe. - -She had to be safe. He heaved in a breath of smoky air, and ran. - -Behind him, around him, the bombardment continued. - - * * * * * - - PUBLIC OPINION FIVE - - Being an excerpt from Chapter Seven of _A Fourth Grade Reader in - Confederation History_, by Dr. A. Lindell Jones, with the - assistance of Mary Beth Wilkinson, published in New York, U. S. A., - Earth in September of the year one hundred and ninety-nine of the - Confederation and approved for use in the public schools by the - Board of Education (United) of the U. S. A., Earth, in January of - the year two hundred of the Confederation. - -... The first explorers on Fruyling's World named the new planet after -the heroic captain of their ship, and prepared long reports on the -planet for the scientists back home in the Confederation. The reports -mentioned large metallic deposits, and this rapidly became important -news. - -The metallic deposits were badly needed by the Confederation for making -many of the things which still are found in your homes: such useful -objects as cleaners, whirlostats and such all require metal from -Fruyling's World. - -Of course, there were not many explorers on the new planet, and it was -a hard job for them to dig out the metal the Confederation needed. - -But the planet had natives on it already. The natives were called -Alberts, and here is a picture of them. Aren't they funny-looking? - -The Alberts were happy to help with the digging in exchange for some of -the good things the explorers talked about, because they didn't have -many good things. But the explorers built houses for them and gave them -food and taught them English, and the Alberts dug in the ground and -helped get the metal ready to ship back to the Confederation. - - * * * * * - -... The following list of Review Questions may be helpful to the -instructor: - -1. Why is Fruyling's World called by that name? After whom was it named? - -2. What is so valuable about Fruyling's World? - -3. Who helps the explorers dig up the metal? - -4. Why do they help? - - - - -19 - - -For Cadnan, the time passed slowly. - -Consciousness came back, along with a thudding ache in the head and a -growing hunger: but there were no leaves on the smooth metal of the -floor, and the demands of his body had to be ignored. His mind began to -drift: once he heard a voice, but when he told himself that the voice -was not real, it went away. He found his hands moving as if he were -pushing the buttons of his job. He stopped them and in a second they -were moving again. - -Then the room itself began to shake. - -Cadnan had no doubts of his sanity: this was different from the -imaginary voice. The room shook again and he wondered whether this were -some new sort of punishment. But it did not hurt him. - -The rumbling sound of the bombardment came to him only dimly, and for -brief seconds. To Cadnan, it sounded like a great machine, and he -wondered about that, too, but he could find no answers. - -The rumbling came again, and sounded nearer. Cadnan thought of machines -shaking his small room, perhaps making it hot as the machines made -metal hot. If that happened, he knew, he would die. - -He called: "Dara." It was hard to hear his own voice. There was no -answer, and he had expected none: but he had had to call. - -The rumbling came again. Surely, he told himself, this was a new -punishment, and it was death. - -There was only one thing for him to do. He sat crosslegged on the -smooth floor as the rumble and the other sounds continued, and in -opposition to them he made his song, chanting in a loud and even voice. -He had learned that a song was to be made when facing death: he had -learned that in the birth huts, and he did not question it. - -The song was necessary, and his voice, carrying over the sounds that -filtered through to him, was clear and strong. - - "I am Cadnan, - I am Cadnan of Bent Line Tree, - I work for the masters, - I push buttons and the machine obeys me, - I push buttons when the masters say to do it. - My song is short. I am near the dead. - I have broken the chain, the chain of obedience. - I do not want to break this chain. - I must break it. Dara says I go. - If I do not go then Dara does not go. - Dara must go. I break the chain. - For this I am near the dead and the room shakes. - It is my death and my song. - I am Cadnan and Bent Line Tree and I work." - -After the song was over, he remained sitting, waiting for what had to -come. The rumbling continued, and the room shook more strongly. For -some seconds he waited, and then he was standing erect, because he -could see. - -The door, sprung from its lock by the shaking of the building, had -fallen a little open. As Cadnan watched, it opened a bit more, and he -went and pushed at it. Under a very light shove, it swung fully open, -and the corridor, lights flickering down its length, stood visible. As -Cadnan peered out, the lights blinked off, and then came on again. - -The rumbling was very loud now, but he saw no machines. He went into -the corridor in a kind of curious daze: there were no masters anywhere, -none to watch or hurt him. He called once more for Dara, but now he -could not hear himself at all: the rumbling was only one of the sounds -that battered at him dizzily. There were bells and buzzes, shrieks and -cascades of brutal, grinding sounds more powerful than could be made by -any machine Cadnan could imagine. - -He started down the corridor: the masters had taken Dara in that -direction, opposite to his own. Suddenly, one of his own kind stood -before him, and he recognized a female, Hortat, through the dusty air. -Hortat was staring at him with a frozen expression in her eye. - -"What is it?" she asked. "What happens?" - -Cadnan, without brutality, brushed her aside. "I do not know. The -masters know. Wait and they tell you." He did not consider whether -the statement were true, or false, or perhaps (under these new -circumstances) entirely meaningless: it was a noise he had to make in -order to get Hortat out of his way. She stood against the corridor wall -as he passed, watching him. - -He went on past her, moving faster now, into the central room from -which corridors radiated. The lights went off again and then came on: -he peered round but there were no masters. Besides, he thought, if the -masters found him the worst they could do would be to kill him, and -that was unimportant now: he already had his song. - -In a corridor at the opposite side of the central room he saw a knot -of Alberts, among whom he recognized only Puna. The elder was speaking -with some others, apparently trying to calm them. Cadnan pushed his way -to Puna's side and heard the talk die down, while all stared at the -audacious newcomer. - -"I am looking for Dara," Cadnan said loudly, to be heard over the -continuous noise from elsewhere. - -Puna said: "I do not know Dara," and turned away. Another shouted: - -"Where are the masters? Where is work?" - -Cadnan shouted: "Wait for the masters," and went on, pushing his way -through the noise, through the babbling crowd of Alberts. There were no -masters visible anywhere: that was a new thing and a strange one, but -too many new things were happening. Cadnan barely noticed one more. - -At the front of his mind now was only the thought of Dara. Behind that -was a vague, nagging fear that he was the cause of all the rumbling and -shaking of the building, and all else, by his breaking of the chain of -obedience. Now, he told himself, the buildings even did not obey. - -Then he heard a voice say: "Cadnan," and all other thought fled. The -voice was hers, Dara's. He saw her, ahead, and went to her quickly. - -She had not been hurt. - -That fact sent a wave of relief through him, a wave so strong that for -a second he could barely stand. - -"The door opens," she said when he had reached her, in a small and -frightened voice. "The masters are not here." - -"They return," Cadnan said, but without complete assurance. In this -barrage of novelty, who could make any statement certain? - -Dara nodded. "Then we must go," she said. "If they are not here, then -maybe they do not hear the noise when we open the door: and there is -much noise already to hide it. Maybe they do not see us." - -"And if they do?" - -Dara looked away. "I have my song," she said. - -"And I have mine." It was settled. - -As they headed toward the big front doors others followed, but there -was no use bothering about that. When Cadnan opened the door, in fact, -the others fell back and remained, staring, until it had shut behind -them. There was the great noise of bells and buzzers--but that had been -going on, Cadnan realized, even before they had begun. Outside, the -spot-lights seemed weaker. There was smoke everywhere, and ahead the -forest was a black and frightening mass. - -He looked at Dara, who showed her fear for one instant. - -"I am also afraid," he told her, and was rewarded by a look of -gratitude. "But we must go on." He took her hand. - -They walked slowly into the smoke and the noise. As they reached the -edge of the forest, the sound began to diminish, very slowly; and, -ahead of them, through the haze and beyond the twisted trees, the sun -began to rise. - - * * * * * - -They walked for a long while, and by the time they had finally stopped -the noise was gone. There was a haze over everything, but through the -haze a morning sun shone, and a heavy peace hung over the world. - -There were trees, but these were neither like Bent Line Tree, for -mating, nor for food. Perhaps, Cadnan thought, they were for building, -but he did not know, and had no way to know until an elder showed him. - -And there were no elders any more. There were neither elders nor -masters: there was only Cadnan, and Dara--and, somewhere, Marvor and -the group he had spoken of. Cadnan peered round, but he saw no one. -There were small new sounds, and those were frightening, but they were -so tiny--rustles, squeaks, no more--that Cadnan could not feel greatly -frightened by them. - -The green-gray light that filtered through the trees and haze bathed -both Alberts in a glow that enhanced their own bright skin-color. They -stood for a few seconds, listening, and then Dara turned. - -"I know these sounds," she said. "I talk to others in our room, and -some of these work outside. They tell me of these sounds and this -place: it is called a jungle." - -Cadnan made a guess. "The trees make the sound." - -"Small beings make it," Dara corrected him. "There are such small -beings, not slaves and not masters. They have no speech but they make -sound." - -Cadnan meditated on this new fact for a short time. Then Dara spoke -again. - -"Where is Marvor? The time of mating is near." - -Cadnan saw her meaning. It was necessary to find Bent Line Tree, or -some like it, and advising elders, all before the time of mating. Yet -he did not know how. "Maybe masters come," he suggested hopefully, "and -tell us what to do." - -Dara shook her head. "No. The masters kill us. They do not lead us any -more. Only we lead ourselves." - -Cadnan thought privately that such an idea was silly, almost too silly -for words: how could a person lead himself? But he said nothing to -Dara, not wanting to hurt her. Instead, he pretended, helplessly, to -agree with her: "You are right. We lead ourselves now." - -"But we must know where Marvor stays." - -That sounded more reasonable. Cadnan considered it for a minute. -Wherever Marvor was hiding, it had to be somewhere in the jungle. And -so, in order to find him, they had only to walk through it. - -And so they set out--on a walk long enough to serve as an aboriginal -Odyssey for the planet. The night-beasts, soft glowing circles of eyes -and mouths which none of their race had ever seen before: the giant -flesh-eating plants: the herd of bovine monsters which, confused, -stampeded at them, shaking the ground with their tread and making the -feathery trees shake as if there were a hurricane: all this might have -made an epic, had there been anyone to record it. But Cadnan expected -no more and no less: the world was strange. Any piece of it was as -strange as any other. - -Once they came across a grove of food-trees, and ate their fill, but -they saved little to take with them, being unused to doing their own -planning. So they went on, hungry and in the midst of dangers scarcely -recognized, sleeping at night however they could, travelling aimlessly -by day. And after a time that measured about three days they stopped in -a small clearing and heard a voice. - -"Who is there?" - -Cadnan, frightened by the sudden noise, managed to says "I am Cadnan -and there is one with me called Dara. We look for Marvor." - -The strange voice hesitated a second, but its words, when it did speak, -were in a tone that was peaceful enough. - -"I know of Marvor and will take you to him. It is not far to where he -stays." - - - - -20 - - -After the first rush of battle, matters began to quiet a little. -Against tremendous odds, and in a few brief hours, the armaments of -Fruyling's World had managed to beat off the Confederation fleets, and -these had withdrawn to reform and to prepare for a new phase of the -engagement. - -In the far-off days before the age of Confederation, war had, perhaps, -been an affair of grinding, constant attack and defense. No one could -say for sure: many records were gone, much had been destroyed. But -now there was waiting, preparation, linked batteries of armaments and -calculators for prediction--and then the brief rush and flurry of -battle, followed by the immense waiting once more. - -For Dodd, it was a time to breathe and to look around. He had enough -work to do: the damage to Building Three, and the confusion among the -Alberts, had to be dealt with, and all knew time was short. Very few -of the Alberts had actually escaped--and most of those, Dodd told -himself bitterly, would die in their own jungles, for lack of knowledge -or preparation. Most, though, simply milled around, waiting for the -masters, wondering and worrying. - -Norma was safe, of course: after a frantic search Dodd had found her -below-ground in the basements of Building One, along with most of -the Psych division. Without present duties forcing them to guard or -maintain the Alberts, the Psych division had holed up almost entire in -the steel corridors that echoed with the dull booms of the battle. -He'd gasped out some statement of relief, and Norma had smiled at him. - -"I knew you'd be safe," she said. "I knew you had to be." - -And of course she was right. Even if what she said had sounded cold, -removed--he had to remember she was under shock, too, the attack had -come unexpectedly on them all. It didn't matter what she said: she was -safe. He was glad of that. - -Of course he was, he thought. Of course he was. - -Even if the things she said, the cold-blooded way she looked at the -world, sometimes bothered him.... - -And, a day later, when everyone was picking up the scattered pieces of -the world and attempting, somehow, to rig a new defense, she'd said -more. Not about herself, or about him. Tacitly, they knew all of that -had to wait for a conclusion to the battle. But about the Alberts.... - -"Of course they're not disloyal," she told him calmly. "They don't even -know what disloyalty means: we've seen to that. The masters are as -much a part of their world as--as food, I suppose. You don't stage a -rebellion against food, do you?" - -Dodd frowned. "But some of them have escaped." - -"Wandered, you mean. Just wandered off. And--oh, I suppose a few have. -Our methods aren't perfect. But they are pretty good, Johnny: look at -the number of Alberts who simply stayed around." - -"We're making them slaves." - -"No." She shook her head, violently. "Nobody can make a slave. All -we've done is seize an opportunity. Think of our own history, Johnny: -first the clan, or the band--some sort of extended family group. Then, -when real leadership is needed, the slave-and-master relationship." - -"Now, wait a minute," Dodd said. Norma had been brain-washed into some -silly set of slogans: it was his job to break them down. "The clan can -elect leaders--" - -"Sure it can," she said. "But democracy is a civilized commodity, -Johnny--in a primitive society it's a luxury the society can't afford. -What guarantees have you got that the clan will elect the best -possible leader? Or that, having elected him, they'll follow him along -the best paths?" - -"Self-interest--" - -But again she cut him off. "Self-interest is stupid," she said -casually. "A child needs to learn. Schooling is in the best interest of -that child. Agreed?" - -"Yes, but--" - -"Did you ever hear of a child who liked school, Johnny?" she asked. -"Did you ever hear of a child who went to school, regularly, eagerly, -without some sort of force being applied, physical, mental or moral? -No, Johnny, self-interest is short-sighted. Force is all that works." - -"But--" He was sure she was wrong, but he couldn't see where. "Who are -we to play God for them?" he said at last. - -"They need somebody," Norma said. "And we need them. Even." - -She seemed harder now, somehow, more decided. Dodd saw that the one -attack had changed a lot--in Norma, in everyone. Albin, for instance, -wasn't involved with fun any more: he had turned into a fanatical -drill-sergeant, with a squad of Alberts under him, and it was even -rumored that he slept in their quarters. - -And Norma ... what had happened to her? After the fighting was over, -and they could talk again, could relax and reach out for each other -once again.... - -She had become so hard.... - -One new fear ran through the defenders. The Alberts who had escaped -might return, some said, vowing vengeance against the masters.... - - - - -21 - - -Cadnan had learned much in a very short time. Everyone was hurried -now, as the time of mating approached more and more quickly and as -the days sped by: knowledge was thrown at Cadnan and at Dara in vast, -indigestible lumps, and they were left to make what they could of it, -while the others went about their normal assigned work. - -He learned about the invasion, for instance--or as much about it as -Marvor, the elders and a few other late arrivals could piece together. -Their explanations made surprisingly good sense, in the main, though -none of them, not even Marvor, could quite comprehend the notion of -masters having masters above them: it appeared contrary to reason. - -Cadnan learned, also, the new trees in this new place, which the elders -had found. There were food trees nearby, and others whose leaves were -meant for building, and there were also trees of mating like his own -Bent Line Tree. No one could tell Cadnan where Bent Line Tree itself -might be: and so he became resigned to his first mating with a new -tree, which the elders had called Great Root Tree. It was not truly -right, he told himself, but there was nothing to do about it. - -The life in the jungle made Cadnan uncomfortable: he was nothing larger -than himself, and he felt very small. When he had masters, he was a -part of something great, of the chain of obedience. But here, in the -jungle, there was no chain (and would the trees obey when their time -came?) and each felt himself alone. It was not good to feel alone, -Cadnan decided; yet, again, there was nothing he could do. It mattered -for a time, and then it ceased to matter. - -The time of mating came closer and closer, and Cadnan felt his own -needs grow with the hours. The sun rose, and fell, and rose again. - -Then the time came. - - * * * * * - -It was dark. There were others near them, but they were alone. Cadnan -knew Dara was standing near him in the darkness, though he saw nothing. -He heard her breath coming slowly at first, and then a little faster. -He did not hear his own, but that was no matter. There was a sound from -a small night-animal, but it did not come near. He stood with Dara near -to Great Root Tree: if he put out his hand, he could touch it. - -But he kept his hand at his side. Touching the tree, at that moment, -was wrong. There were the old rules, the true rules, and to think of -them made him feel better. - -Dara said nothing: it was not necessary for her to speak. They knew -each other, and the attraction was very strong. Cadnan had felt the -attraction before, but until that moment he had not known how strong it -was. And then it grew, and grew. - -Still they did not move. Darkness covered both, and there was no more -sound. The very feeling of the presence of others disappeared: there -was nothing but Cadnan, and Dara, and Great Root Tree. - -It called to him, but not to him alone. He knew what he had to do. He -felt the front of his body growing warm and then hot. He felt the first -touch of the liquid. - -He touched Dara: their fronts touched. That alone was more than Cadnan -had ever imagined yet it was not enough. Still there was more he was -called on to do: he did not think about it, or know of it until it was -done. He moved against Dara, as she against him: he was not himself. He -was more and less, he was only the front of his body and he was Great -Root Tree, he was all trees, all worlds.... - -When he stepped back it was like dying, but he could not die, since -there was more for him to do. He stood still, very close to Dara, and, -remaining close, he went to the tree. It was not far and both knew the -path, but it seemed far. Cadnan could feel the mixed liquids on his -front, his and Dara's: Great Root Tree seemed to call these liquids to -itself, and himself and Dara with them. - -They walked to it. In the darkness they could not see it, but they knew -the tree: they had spent time knowing it before that night. Cadnan -reached out a slow hand and touched the back of the tree, almost -as smooth as metal, with only minute irregularities throughout its -surface. Once again a long time seemed to pass, but it was not long. - -Then he was against the tree while Dara stood behind, waiting. He -pressed himself against the bark and he felt himself becoming part of -Great Root Tree, becoming the tree itself; and this lasted for all time -and no time, and he was separated from it and saw Dara come to where he -had pressed, and move delicately and then fiercely upon the bark; then -he saw nothing but heard her breathing faster and faster, and all sound -stopped ... there was a long silence ... and then her breathing began -again, very slowly, very slowly. - -She returned to Cadnan and took his hand. It was finished. Soon the -tree would bud with the results of the liquids rubbed on it: after -that, there would be small ones, and Cadnan would be an elder. All -of this was in the future and it was very dim in Cadnan's mind, but -everything was dim: he lay on the ground and Dara lay near him, both -very tired, too tired to think of anything, and he felt himself shaking -for a time and his breath hissed in and out until the shaking stopped. - -Dara, too, was quiet at last. The darkness had not changed. There was -no sound, and no motion. - -It was over. - - - - -22 - - -When the Confederation forces reformed, they came on with a crash. Dodd -had heard for months that Fruyling's World could never stand up to a -real assault: he had even thought he believed it. But the first attack -had bolstered his gloomy confidence, and the results of the second came -not only as a surprise but as a naked shock. - -The Alberts in spite of a few fearful masters, had been issued Belbis -tubes and fought valiantly with them; the batteries did everything -expected of them, and the sky was lit with supernal flashes of blinding -color throughout one hard-fought night. Dodd himself, carrying a huge -Belbis beam, braced himself against the outer wall of Building One and -played the beam like a hose on any evidence of Confederation ships up -there in the lightning-lit sky: he felt only like a robot, doing an -assigned and meaningless job, and it was only later that he realized he -had been shivering all the time he had used the killing beam. As far as -he could tell he had hit nothing at all. - -The battle raged for six hours, and by its end Dodd was half-deafened -by the sound and half-blinded by the sporadic rainbow flashes that -meant a hit or a miss or a return-blow, lancing down from the ships to -shake buildings and ground. At first he had thought of Norma, safe in -the bunkers below Building One. Then she had left his mind entirely and -there was only the battle, the beginning of all things and the end -(only the battle and the four constant words in his mind): even when -the others began to retreat and Dodd heard the shouted orders he never -moved. His hands were frozen to the Belbis beam, his ears heard only -battle and his eyes saw only the shining results of his own firing. - -There was a familiar voice--Albin's: "... get out while you've got a -chance--it's over...." - -Another voice: "... better surrender than get killed...." - -The howls of a squad of Alberts as a beam lanced over them, touching -them only glancingly, not killing but only subjecting them to an -instant of "punishment"; and the howls ceased, swallowed up in the -greater noise. - -A voice: "... Johnny...." - -It meant nothing. Dodd no longer knew he had a name: he was only -an extension of his beam, firing with hypnotized savagery into the -limitless dark. - -"Johnny...." - -He heard his own voice answering. "Get back to the bunker. You'll be -safe in the bunker. Leave me alone." His voice was strange to his ears, -like an echo of the blasts themselves, rough and loud. - -Dawn was beginning to color the sky, very slightly. That was good: in -daylight he might be able to see the ships. He would fire the beam and -see the ships die. That was good, though he hardly knew why: he knew -only that it pleased him. He watched the dawn out of a corner of one -eye. - -"Johnny, it's all over, we've lost, it's finished. Johnny, come with -me." - -Norma's voice. But Norma was in the bunker. Norma had caused the -battle: she had made the slaves. Now she was safe while he fought. -The thought flickered over his mind like a beam blast, and sank into -blackness. - -"Johnny, please ... Johnny ... come on, now. Come on. You'll be safe. -You don't want to die...." - -No, of course he didn't. He fired the beam, aimed, fired again, aimed -again. He could die when his enemies were dead. He could die when -everyone who was trying to kill him was dead. Then he could die, or -live: it made no difference. - -He fired again, aimed again, fired.... - -"Johnny, please...." The voice distracted him a little. No wonder -he couldn't kill all the ships, with that voice distracting him. -It went on and on: "Johnny, you don't have to die ... you're not -responsible.... Johnny, you aren't a slaver, you just had a job to -do.... Killing isn't the answer, Johnny, death isn't the answer...." - -The voice went on and on, but he tried to ignore it. He had to keep -firing: that was his job, and more than his job. It was his life. It -was all of his life that he had left. - - * * * * * - -Dr. Haenlingen had told her she was too close to see properly, and, of -course, she was. Perhaps she knew that, in the final seconds. Perhaps -she never did. But that Dodd, who wanted to die and who considered -death the only proper atonement for his life, could have displaced -that wish onto the Confederation, onto his "enemies," and so reached a -precarious and temporary balance, never occurred to her. And if it had, -perhaps she could have done nothing better ... time had run out. - -Time had run out. Johnny Dodd's enemies wanted him dead, and so he had -to kill them (and so avoid killing himself, and so avoid recognizing -how much he himself wanted to be dead). But the balance wasn't -complete. There was still the guilt, still the terrible guilt that made -it _right_ for the Confederation to kill him. - -The guilt had to be displaced, too. - -Norma did what she could, did what she thought right. "You don't have -to die," she told him. "You're not responsible." - -That was what he heard, and it was enough. He hadn't made the Alberts -into slaves. He hadn't made the Alberts into slaves. - -But he knew who had. Long before, it had all been carefully explained -to him. All of the tricks that had been used.... - -Of course, Dodd thought. Of course he wasn't responsible. - -He felt an enormous peace descend on him, like a cloak, as he turned -with the beam in his hand and smiled at Norma. She began, tentatively, -to return his smile. - -The beam cut her down where she stood and left a swathe of jungle -behind her black and smoking. - -Dodd, his job completed, dropped the beam. For one instant four words -lit up in his mind, and then everything went out into blankness and -peace. The body remained, the body moved, the body lived, for a time. -But after those four words, blinding and bright and then swallowed up, -Johnny Dodd was gone. - -He had found what he needed. - -_This is the end._ - - * * * * * - - PUBLIC OPINION SIX - - From A Cultural Record of Fruyling's World - - Personal Histories of the Natives (called Alberts) - - As Dictated and Preserved on Tape by Historical Commission HN3-40-9 - - Subject (called) Cadnan - -... Dara is dead in the returning, when new masters come to us and say -the fighting is over. It is an accident which kills her, a stumble, -they say, against a plant which is dangerous to animal life and to our -kind. The accident is over and Dara is dead, and we return. - -I find Marvor after the fighting, once only, and I ask him what it -is that is so important about this fighting. The Confederation--the -masters we now have--are only masters like the ones we know. Marvor -looks at me with a look as if he, too, is a master. - -"Freedom is that important," he says. "Freedom is the most important -thing." - -I know that Marvor is not right, because I know the most important -thing: it is the dead. For me Dara is most important, and I remember -Puna, who is dead in the fighting: the rest does not matter. I say this -now, knowing that the talk-machine hears me and that the Confederation -hears me. - -I say: "Can freedom make me feel happy?" - -Marvor looks more like a master. "Freedom is good," he says. - -"And yet Dara is dead," I say. "And others are dead. How do I feel -happy when I know this?" - -"In freedom," Marvor tells us, "Dara would be safe, and the others." - -"Yet it is freedom that kills them," I say. - -Marvor says: "Not freedom but the war. The fight against our masters -here, the old masters, to make them give us freedom." - -I say: "Do not our old masters have freedom?" - -"They do," Marvor says, "now." - -This puzzles me. I say: "But they have freedom at all times. They have -what they want, and if freedom is a good, and they want it, then they -have it." - -Marvor says: "It is true. They have freedom for themselves." - -"Yet these other masters tell them what to do," I say, "and fight them -to make them do it. This is not the freedom you tell of." - -Marvor says: "There is a difference." - -I do not see this difference, and he can not tell it to me though he -tries hard. But I think maybe the new masters can tell me what it is. -Marvor is going to what they call a school and I also go. This is a -place where masters tell things, and we must remember them. Remembering -is not hard, but we must think also, and do work. It is not enough to -ask a question and find an answer. It is necessary to find our own -answers. - -A master asks us to count, and then to do things with the numbers we -use in our counting. This is called arithmetic. We must do things with -the numbers every day, and if we do not the masters are not happy with -us. This arithmetic is hard: it is all new. Yet if I do it right I do -not find more food or a better place or any thing I want. I do not see -what is the use of this arithmetic. - -But the use does not matter. The master tells me a use. He says -arithmetic and all of the things in the school raise the cultural -level. I do not know what a cultural level is or if it is good to be -raised. The masters do not care whether I know this. They make me do -what they want me to do. - -And it is not simple like pushing buttons and watching a machine. It -is not simple like all the things I do since I am small Cadnan. It is -hard, very hard, and all the time it is more hard. - -Every day there is a school. Every day there is hard work. Marvor says -that freedom means doing for yourself what you want and deciding right -and wrong. I say freedom is bad because the masters know right and -wrong and we do not. Others say with me: there are some who know the -old truths and think it is better when we, too, can understand right -and wrong. - -But the masters say what we have is freedom. I say it is not so. The -masters tell us what to do: they tell us to do arithmetic, to do all -other school things, and we do not do for ourselves what we want. We do -not do anything for ourselves, but always the masters tell us. - -This is the same as before the fighting. It is always the same. A -master is a master. - -But the old masters were the best. I remember the old masters and the -old work, and I want this time to come again. I want the old work, -which is easy, and not this new work, which is hard. I want the old -slavery, where we know right and wrong, and not the new slavery, where -only the masters know and they say they cannot tell us. - -If I am free, if I can decide for myself what it is that I want, then -this is what I decide. - -I want the old masters back again. - -I, Cadnan, say this. - - * * * * * - - PUBLIC OPINION SEVEN - - From the speech of Dr. Anna Haenlingen - - Before the High Court (Earth) of the Confederation - - Preparatory to the Passing of Sentence - -... The attorneys for the Confederation government have called our -position cynical, and my own attorneys have attempted, without -success, to refute this charge. As head of the Psychological Division -on Fruyling's World previous to the unjustified intervention of -Confederation force in the affairs of that world, I feel it incumbent -on me to define a position which even our own advocates do not seem to -understand. - -I bear a good deal of the responsibility for conditions on Fruyling's -World, and I have not shirked that responsibility. I found the -natives of that world in a condition of slavery, due to the work of -my predecessors. I maintained them in that slavery, and made no move -whatever to free them or to mitigate their status. - -This is, in truth, a cynical position. I do not believe, and I have -never believed, that freedom is necessarily a good for all people at -all times. Like any other quality, it can be used for good or for ill. - -In the contact between any barbarian people and any civilized people, -some species of slavery is necessary. The barbarian does not know -that he is a barbarian, and the only way to convey to him the fact -that he stands at the bottom of a long ladder--a ladder so long -that we have by no means reached its end, and have perhaps not yet -seen its midpoint--is to force him to make contact with elements of -civilization, and to utilize continuous force to keep this contact -alive and viable. - -The alien--the barbarian--will not of himself continue contact in any -meaningful manner. The gap is too great between his life and that -of the civilized person, and a disparity so great becomes, simply, -invisible. Under conditions of equality, the civilized person must -degenerate to barbarian status: his mind can comprehend the barbarian, -and he can move in that direction. The barbarian, incapable of -comprehension of the civilized world, cannot move toward that which he -cannot see. - -In order to bring him into motion, slavery and subjection appear -necessities. There has been no civilization of which we have record -which has not passed through a period of subjection to another, more -forceful civilization: the Greeks, the Romans, the Jews, all the great -civilizations of which there is available record have passed through a -period of slavery. Nor is this accidental. - -Some force must be applied to begin the motion toward civilization. -That force--disguise it how you will--is slavery. It is clearly the -attempt to make another person do what he would not do, does not -wish to do, and sees no personal profit in doing, under threat of -punishment. It is subjection. That subjection is all we mean by slavery. - -And slavery is a necessity. - -Perhaps we were wrong: perhaps the slavery which was dictated to us by -the conditions which prevailed upon Fruyling's World was not the best -sort available. But freedom is not, in any case, the answer. A man may -die as the result of too much oxygen: a culture, likewise, may die of -too much freedom. - -I have no fear of the sentence of this court. My death is unimportant, -and I do not fear it. I might fear that my work be left undone, were I -not certain that, under whatever name, the Confederation will find it -necessary to maintain slavery on Fruyling's World. - -Of this, I am quite sure. - - * * * * * - - From the Report of Genmo. Darad Farnung, Commanding Confederation - Expeditionary Force, 3rd Sector From Base of Occupation, Fruyling's - World (NC34157:495:4) - -... In the three planetary months (approx. ninety-two Solar days) since -occupation of this world, no serious incidents have been reported. -The previous "rulers" of this world have been transshipped to Earth -for disposal there by Confederation governmental process. With the -introduction of fully automated machinery, the world's primary -resources are being utilized for the good of the Confederation without -the introduction of any form of slavery or forced labor whatever.... - -... Regarding education and aid as involving the native population, -the initial shipments of teachers, investigators and experts in -xenopsychology have enabled the occupation force to begin a full -educational program for the benefit of the natives. This program has -been accepted by the natives without delay and without any untoward -incidents, and reports to the contrary are assumed to have been -initiated by disaffected personnel. The program of education in a -democratic and workable form of government for these natives is, and -must remain, one of the shining examples of the liberative effects of -Confederation doctrine and government, and should provide a valuable -precedent in future cases.... - -... Reports that the profits of the major business of this world, -since the introduction of automated machinery and experts for the -repair and upkeep thereof, have decreased to the vanishing point should -not be taken as serious: this is assumed to be merely a temporary -hardship due to the transfer workload from the natives to the automated -structure.... Since the only alternative is the placement of the -workload on enslaved natives of this world, the temporary rise in taxes -due to the loss on essential product profit should be taken as a needed -and welcome sacrifice in the name of liberty by the peoples of the -Confederation.... - -... A list of further urgent materials, together with a list of -specialties now urgently required in order to maintain full production -here, and a revised schedule of budgetary requirements to include these -additional requisitions, is hereby appended.... - - * * * * * - - - - -THE MASTERS - -_johnny dodd:_ he had everything a man could want on Fruyling's -World--except freedom from the horror of being there. - -_dr. haenlingen:_ icy, reserved, the architect of the system that kept -men on top and aliens enslaved. - -_norma:_ warm and human, she was Dodd's one hope for salvation. - -THE SLAVES - -_cadnan:_ he did what he was told ... until the Masters told him to die. - -_marvor:_ the first of his race to have an independent idea--an idea -that was dangerous and deadly. - -_dara:_ green and reptilian, but beautiful enough to inspire Cadnan to -the slave world's worst crime. - -As the space fleets of an outraged Terran Confederation close in on the -outlaw planet of Fruyling's World, the destinies of slave and master -meet explosively, and from the shock of battle and its aftermath come -an unexpected and awesome conclusion. - -PYRAMID PRESENTS - -ROBERT BLOCH - -BOGEY MEN (F-839) - - -A PYRAMID BOOK 40¢ - -Cover painting by Jack Gaughan - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Slave Planet, by Laurence Janifer - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SLAVE PLANET *** - -***** This file should be named 51855-8.txt or 51855-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/1/8/5/51855/ - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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Thus, we do not necessarily -keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. - - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: - - http://www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/old/51855-8.zip b/old/51855-8.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 95b48db..0000000 --- a/old/51855-8.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51855-h.zip b/old/51855-h.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 353a4f2..0000000 --- a/old/51855-h.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51855-h/51855-h.htm b/old/51855-h/51855-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index a9dfe34..0000000 --- a/old/51855-h/51855-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5887 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" - "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> - <head> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=us-ascii" /> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> - <title> - The Project Gutenberg eBook of Slave Planet, by Laurence Janifer. - </title> - <link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg" /> - - <style type="text/css"> - -body { - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - - h1,h2 { - text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ - clear: both; -} - -p { - margin-top: .51em; - text-align: justify; - margin-bottom: .49em; -} - -.smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} - -hr { - width: 33%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - margin-left: 33.5%; - margin-right: 33.5%; - clear: both; -} - -hr.chap {width: 65%; margin-left: 17.5%; margin-right: 17.5%;} -hr.tb {width: 45%; margin-left: 27.5%; margin-right: 27.5%;} - -.center {text-align: center;} - -.right {text-align: right;} - -.caption {font-weight: bold;} - -/* Images */ -.figcenter { - margin: auto; - text-align: center; -} - -div.titlepage { - text-align: center; - page-break-before: always; - page-break-after: always; -} - -div.titlepage p { - text-align: center; - text-indent: 0em; - font-weight: bold; - line-height: 1.5; - margin-top: 3em; -} - -.ph1, .ph2, .ph3 { text-align: center; text-indent: 0em; font-weight: bold; } -.ph1 { font-size: xx-large; margin: .67em auto; } -.ph2 { font-size: x-large; margin: .75em auto; } -.ph3 { font-size: large; margin: .83em auto; } - -.ph4 { text-align: right; text-indent: 0em; } -.ph4 { font-size: medium; margin: 1.12em auto; } - -.poetry .stanza -{ - margin: 1em auto; -} - -.poetry .verse -{ - padding-left: 3em; -} - -.blockquot2 { - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 15%; -} - -.blockquot { - margin-left: 5%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - -table { - margin-left: auto; - margin-right: auto; -} - - - - </style> - </head> -<body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Slave Planet, by Laurence Janifer - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Slave Planet - -Author: Laurence Janifer - -Release Date: April 24, 2016 [EBook #51855] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SLAVE PLANET *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/cover.jpg" width="291" height="500" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="titlepage"> - -<h1>SLAVE PLANET</h1> - -<p><i>A Science Fiction Novel by</i></p> - -<p>LAURENCE JANIFER</p> - -<p>PYRAMID BOOKS -NEW YORK</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>SLAVE PLANET</p> - -<p>A PYRAMID BOOK</p> - -<p>First printing, March 1963</p> - -<p><i>This book is fiction. No resemblance is intended between<br /> -any character herein and any person, living or dead,<br /> -any such resemblance it purely coincidental.</i></p> - -<p>Copyright 1963, by Pyramid Publications, Inc.<br /> -All Rights Reserved</p> - -<p><i>Printed in the United States of America</i></p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Pyramid Books</span> are published by Pyramid Publications, Inc.<br /> -<i>444 Madison Avenue, New York 22, New York, U.S.A.</i></p> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: Extensive research did not uncover any<br /> -evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p><i>This moral tale is dedicated<br /> -To Philip Klass<br /> -Who will probably find it disagreeable<br /> -But who will think about it:<br /> -An occupation as cheering to the writer<br /> -As it is rare in the world.</i></p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - -<p class="ph3"><i>Fruyling's World</i></p> - -<p>... rich in the metals that kept the Terran Confederation going—one -vital link in a galaxy-wide civilization. But the men of Fruyling's -World lived on borrowed time, knowing that slavery was outlawed -throughout the Confederation—and that only the slave labor of the -reptilian natives could produce the precious metals the Confederation -needed!</p> - -<p>As the first hints of the truth about Fruyling's World emerge, the -tension becomes unbearable—to be resolved only in the shattering -climax of this fast-paced, thought-provoking story of one of today's -most original young writers.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>"On Saturday, July 30, Dr. Johnson and I took a sculler at the -Temple-stairs, and set out for Greenwich. I asked him if he really -thought a knowledge of the Greek and Latin languages an essential -requisite to a good education. JOHNSON. 'Most certainly, Sir; for -those who know them have a very great advantage over those who do not. -Nay, Sir, it is wonderful what a difference learning makes upon people -even in the common intercourse of life, which does not appear to be -much connected with it.' 'And yet, (said I) people go through the -world very well, and carry on the business of life to good advantage, -without learning.' JOHNSON. 'Why, Sir, that may be true in cases where -learning cannot possibly be of any use; for instance, this boy rows -us as well without learning, as if he could sing the song of Orpheus -to the Argonauts, who were the first sailors.' He then called to the -boy, 'What would you give my lad, to know about the Argonauts?' 'Sir, -(said the boy) I would give what I have.' Johnson was much pleased with -his answer, and we gave him a double fare. Dr. Johnson then turning to -me, 'Sir, (said he) a desire of knowledge is the natural feeling of -mankind; and every human being, whose mind is not debauched, will be -willing to give all that he has, to get knowledge.'"</p> - -<p class="ph4">—James Boswell,<br /> -<i>The Life of Samuel Johnson, L. L. D.</i></p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>"It has become a common catchword that slavery is the product of an -agricultural society and cannot exist in the contemporary, mechanized -world. Like so many catchwords, this one is recognizable as nonsense -as soon as it is closely examined. Given that the upkeep of the slaves -is less than the price of full automation (and <i>its</i> upkeep), I do -not think we shall prove ourselves morally so very superior to our -grandfathers."</p> - -<p class="ph4">—H. D. Abel,<br /> -<i>Essays in History and Causation</i></p> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph3">CONTENTS</p> - - -<div class="table"> -<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="Contents"> -<tr><td align="left"><a href="#c1">1</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><a href="#c2">2</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><a href="#c3">3</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><a href="#c4">4</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><a href="#c5">5</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><a href="#c6">6</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><a href="#c7">7</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><a href="#c8">8</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><a href="#c9">9</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><a href="#c10">10</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><a href="#c11">11</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><a href="#c12">12</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><a href="#c13">13</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><a href="#c14">14</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><a href="#c15">15</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><a href="#c16">16</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><a href="#c17">17</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><a href="#c18">18</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><a href="#c19">19</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><a href="#c20">20</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><a href="#c21">21</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><a href="#c22">22</a></td></tr> -</table></div> - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<p class="ph3">PART ONE</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="c1" id="c1">1</a></h2> - - -<p>"I would not repeat myself if it were not for the urgency of this -matter." Dr. Haenlingen's voice hardly echoed in the square small room. -She stood staring out at the forests below, the coiling gray-green -trees, the plants and rough growth. A small woman whose carriage was -always, publicly, stiff and erect, whose iron-gray eyes seemed as -solid as ice, she might years before have trained her voice to sound -improbably flat and formal. Now the formality was dissolving in anger. -"As you know, the mass of citizens throughout the Confederation are a -potential source of explosive difficulty, and our only safety against -such an explosion lies in complete and continuing silence." Abruptly, -she turned away from the window. "Have you got that, Norma?"</p> - -<p>Norma Fredericks nodded, her trace poised over the waiting pad. "Yes, -Dr. Haenlingen. Of course."</p> - -<p>Dr. Haenlingen's laugh was a dry rustle. "Good Lord, girl," she said. -"Are you afraid of me, too?"</p> - -<p>Norma shook her head instantly, then stopped and almost smiled. "I -suppose I am, Doctor," she said. "I don't quite know why—"</p> - -<p>"Authority figure, parent-surrogate, phi factor—there's no mystery -about the why, Norma. If you're content with jargon, and we know -all the jargon, don't we?" Now instead of a laugh it was a smile, -surprisingly warm but very brief. "We ought to, after all; we ladle it -out often enough."</p> - -<p>Norma said: "There's certainly no real reason for fear. I don't want -you to think—"</p> - -<p>"I don't think," Dr. Haenlingen said. "I never think. I reason when I -must, react when I can." She paused. "Sometimes, Norma, it strikes me -that the Psychological Division hasn't really kept track of its own -occupational syndromes."</p> - -<p>"Yes?" Norma waited, a study in polite attention. The trace fell slowly -in her hand to the pad on her knees and rested there.</p> - -<p>"I ask you if you're afraid of me and I get the beginnings of a -self-analysis," Dr. Haenlingen said. She walked three steps to the -desk and sat down behind it, her hands clasped on the surface, her -eyes staring at the younger woman. "If I'd let you go on I suppose you -could have given me a yard and a half of assorted psychiatric jargon, -complete with suggestions for a change in your pattern."</p> - -<p>"I only—"</p> - -<p>"You only reacted the way a good Psychological Division worker is -supposed to react, I imagine." The eyes closed for a second, opened -again. "You know, Norma, I could have dictated this to a tape and had -it sent out automatically. Did you stop to think why I wanted to talk -it out to you?"</p> - -<p>"It's a message to the Confederation," Norma said slowly. "I suppose -it's important, and you wanted—"</p> - -<p>"Importance demands accuracy," Dr. Haenlingen broke in. "Do you think -you can be more accurate than a tape record?"</p> - -<p>A second of silence went by. "I don't know, then," Norma said at last.</p> - -<p>"I wanted reaction," Dr. Haenlingen said. "I wanted somebody's -reaction. But I can't get yours. As far as I can see you're the white -hope of the Psychological Division—but even you are afraid of me, even -you are masking any reaction you might have for fear the terrifying Dr. -Anna Haenlingen won't like it." She paused. "Good Lord, girl, I've got -to know if I'm getting through!"</p> - -<p>Norma took a deep breath. "I'm sorry," she said at last. "I'll try to -give you what you want—"</p> - -<p>"There you go again." Dr. Haenlingen shoved back her chair and stood -up, marched to the window and stared out at the forest again. Below, -the vegetation glowed in the daylight. She shook her head slowly. "How -can you give me what I want when I don't know what I want? I need to -know what <i>you</i> think, how <i>you</i> react. I'm not going to bite your head -off if you do something wrong: there's nothing wrong that you <i>can</i> do. -Except not react at all."</p> - -<p>"I'm sorry," Norma said again.</p> - -<p>Dr. Haenlingen's shoulders moved, up and down. It might have been a -sigh. "Of course you are," she said in a gentler voice. "I'm sorry, -too. It's just that matters aren't getting any better—and one false -move could crack us wide open."</p> - -<p>"I know," Norma said. "You'd think people would understand—"</p> - -<p>"People," Dr. Haenlingen said, "understand very little. That's what -we're here for, Norma: to make them understand a little more. To make -them understand, in fact, what we want them to understand."</p> - -<p>"The truth," Norma said.</p> - -<p>"Of course," Dr. Haenlingen said, almost absently. "The truth."</p> - -<p>This time there was a longer pause.</p> - -<p>"Shall we get on with it, then?" Dr. Haenlingen said.</p> - -<p>"I'm ready," Norma said. "'Complete and continuing silence.'"</p> - -<p>Dr. Haenlingen paused. "What?... Oh. It should be perfectly obvious -that the average Confederation citizen, regardless of his training or -information, would not understand the project under development here -no matter how carefully it was explained to him. The very concepts of -freedom, justice, equality under the law, which form the cornerstone -of Confederation law and, more importantly, Confederation societal -patterns, will prevent him from judging with any real degree of -objectivity our actions on Fruyling's World, or our motives."</p> - -<p>"Actions," Norma muttered. "Motives." The trace flew busily over the -pad, leaving its shorthand trail.</p> - -<p>"It was agreed in the original formation of our project here that -silence and secrecy were essential to the project's continuance. Now, -in the third generation of that project, the wall of silence has been -breached and I have received repeated reports of rumors regarding our -relationship with the natives. The very fact that such rumors exist -is indication enough that an explosive situation is developing. It is -possible for the Confederation to be forced to the wall on this issue, -and this issue alone: I cannot emphasize too strongly the fact that -such a possibility exists. Therefore—"</p> - -<p>"Doctor," Norma said.</p> - -<p>The dictation stopped. Dr. Haenlingen turned slowly. "Yes?"</p> - -<p>"You wanted reactions, didn't you?" Norma said.</p> - -<p>"Well?" The word was not unfriendly.</p> - -<p>Norma hesitated for a second. Then she burst out: "But they're so -far away! I mean—there isn't any reason why they should really -care. They're busy with their own lives, and I don't really see why -whatever's done here should occupy them—"</p> - -<p>"Because you're not seeing them," Dr. Haenlingen said. "Because -you're thinking of the Confederation, not the people who compose the -Confederation, all of the people on Mars, and Venus, the moons and -Earth. The Confederation itself—the government—really doesn't care. -Why should it? But the people do—or would."</p> - -<p>"Oh," Norma said, and then: "Oh. Of course."</p> - -<p>"That's right," Dr. Haenlingen said. "They hear about freedom, and all -the rest, as soon as they're old enough to hear about anything. It's -part of every subject they study in school, it's part of the world they -live in, it's like the air they breathe. They can't question it: they -can't even think about it."</p> - -<p>"And, of course, if they hear about Fruyling's World—"</p> - -<p>"There won't be any way to disguise the fact," Dr. Haenlingen said. "In -the long run, there never is. And the fact will shock them into action. -As long as they continue to live in that air of freedom and justice and -equality under the law, they'll want to stop what we're doing here. -They'll have to."</p> - -<p>"I see," Nonna said. "Of course."</p> - -<p>Dr. Haenlingen, still looking out at the world below, smiled faintly. -"Slavery," she said, "is such an <i>ugly</i> word."</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="c2" id="c2">2</a></h2> - - -<p>The Commons Room of the Third Building of City One was a large affair, -whose three bare metal walls enclosed more space than any other -single living-quarters room in the Building; but the presence of the -fourth wall made it seem tiny. That wall was nearly all window, a -non-shatterable clear plastic immensely superior to that laboratory -material, glass. It displayed a single unbroken sweep of forty feet, -and it looked down on the forests of Fruyling's World from a height of -sixteen stories. Men new to the Third Building usually sat with their -backs to that enormous window, and even the eldest inhabitants usually -placed their chairs somehow out of line with it, and looked instead at -the walls, at their companions, or at their own hands.</p> - -<p>Fruyling's World was disturbing, and not only because of the choking -profusion of forest that always seemed to threaten the isolated -clusters of human residence. A man could get used to forests. But at -any moment, looking down or out across the gray-green vegetation, that -man might catch sight of a native—an Elder, perhaps heading slowly out -toward the Birth Huts hidden in the lashing trees, or a group of Small -Ones being herded into the Third Building itself for their training. It -was hard, perhaps impossible, to get used to that: when you had to see -the natives you steeled yourself for the job. When you didn't have to -see them you counted yourself lucky and called yourself relaxed.</p> - -<p>It wasn't that the natives were hideous, either. Their very name had -been given to them by men in a kind of affectionate mockery, since -they weren't advanced enough even to have such a group-name of their -own as "the people." They were called Alberts, after a half-forgotten -character in a mistily-remembered comic strip dating back before space -travel, before the true beginnings of Confederation history. If you -ignored the single, Cyclopean eye, the rather musty smell and a few -other even more minor details, they looked rather like two-legged -alligators four feet tall, green as jewels, with hopeful grins on their -faces and an awkward, waddling walk like a penguin's. Seen without -preconceptions they might have been called cute.</p> - -<p>But no man on Fruyling's World could see the Alberts without -preconceptions. They were not Alberts: they were slaves, as the men -were masters. And slavery, named and accepted, has traditionally been -harder on the master than the slave.</p> - -<p>John Dodd, twenty-seven years old, master, part of the third -generation, arranged his chair carefully so that it faced the door of -the Commons Room, letting the light from the great window illumine the -back of his head. He clasped his hands in his lap in a single, nervous -gesture, never noticing that the light gave him a faint saintlike halo -about his feathery hair. His companion took another chair, set it at -right angles to Dodd's and gave it long and thoughtful consideration, -as if the act of sitting down were something new and untried.</p> - -<p>"It's good to be off-duty," Dodd said violently. "Good. Not to have to -see them—not to have to think about them until tomorrow."</p> - -<p>The standing man, shorter than Dodd and built heavily, actually turned -and looked out at the window. "And then tomorrow what do you do?" -he asked. "Give up your job? You're just letting the thing get you, -Johnny."</p> - -<p>"I'd give up my job in twenty seconds if I thought it would do any -good," Dodd said. He shook his head. "I give up a job here in the -Buildings, and then what do I do? Go out and starve in the jungle? -Nobody's done it, nobody's ever done it."</p> - -<p>"Well?" the squat man said. "Is that an excuse?"</p> - -<p>Dodd sighed. "Those who work get fed," he said. "And housed. And -clothed. And—God help us—entertained, by 3D tapes older than our -fathers are. If a man didn't work he'd get—cast out. Cut off."</p> - -<p>"There's more than 3D tapes," the squat man said, and grinned.</p> - -<p>"Sure." Dodd's voice was tired. "But think about it for a minute, -Albin. Do you know what we've got here?"</p> - -<p>"We've got a nice, smooth setup," Albin said. "No worries, no fights, -a job to do and a place to do it in, time to relax, time to have fun. -It's okay."</p> - -<p>There was a little silence. Dodd's voice seemed more distant. "Marxian -economics," he said. "Perfect Marxian economics, on a world that would -make old Karl spin in his grave like an electron."</p> - -<p>"I guess so," Albin said. "History's not my field. But—given the -setup, what else could there be? What other choice have you got?"</p> - -<p>"I don't know." Again a silence. Dodd's hands unclasped: he made -a gesture as if he were sweeping something away from his face. -"There ought to be something else. Even on Earth, even before the -Confederation, there were conscientious objectors."</p> - -<p>"History again," Albin said. He walked a few steps toward the window. -"Anyhow, that was for war."</p> - -<p>"I don't know," Dodd said. His hands went back into his lap, and his -eyes closed. He spoke, now, like a man in a dream. "There used to be -all kinds of jobs. I guess there still are, in the Confederation. On -Earth. Back home where none of us have ever been." He repeated the -words like an echo: "Back home." In the silence nothing interrupted -him: behind his head light poured in from the giant window. "A man -could choose his own job," he went on, in the same tone. "He could be -a factory-worker or a professor or a truck-driver or a musician or—a -lot of jobs. A man didn't have to work at one, whether he wanted to or -not."</p> - -<p>"All right," Albin said. "Okay. So suppose you had your choice. Suppose -every job in every damn history you've ever heard of was open to you. -Just what would you pick? Make a choice. Go ahead, make—"</p> - -<p>"It isn't funny, Albin," Dodd said woodenly. "It isn't a game."</p> - -<p>"Okay, it isn't," Albin said. "So make it a game. Just for a minute. -Think over all the jobs you can and make a choice. You don't like -being here, do you? You don't like working with the Alberts. So where -would you like to be? What would you like to do?" He came back to the -chair, his eyes on Dodd, and sat suddenly down, his elbows on his knees -and his chin cupped in his hands, facing Dodd like a gnome out of -pre-history. "Go on," he said. "Make a choice."</p> - -<p>"Okay," Dodd said without opening his eyes. His voice became more -distant, dreamlike. "Okay," he said again. "I—there isn't one job, -but maybe a kind of job. Something to do with growing things." There -was a pause. "I'd like to work somewhere growing things. I'd like to -work with plants. They're all right, plants. They don't make you feel -anything." The voice stopped.</p> - -<p>"Plants?" Albin hooted gigantically. "Good God, think about it! You're -stuck on a planet that's over seventy per cent plant life—trees and -weeds and jungles all over the land and even mats of green stuff -covering the oceans and riding on the rivers—a planet that's just -about nothing but plants, a king-sized hothouse for every kind of leaf -and blade and flower and fruit you could ever dream up—"</p> - -<p>"It's not the same," Dodd said.</p> - -<p>"You," Albin said, "are out of your head. So if you're crazy for -plants, so grow them in your spare time. If you've got a window in your -room you can put up a window-box. If not, something else. Me, I think -it's damn silly: with the plants all around here, what's the sense of -growing more? But if you like it, God knows Fruyling's World is ready -to provide it for you."</p> - -<p>"As a hobby," Dodd said flatly.</p> - -<p>"Well, then, a hobby," Albin said. "If you're interested in it."</p> - -<p>"Interested." The word was like an echo. A silence fell. Albin's eyes -studied Dodd, the thin face and the play of light on the hair. After a -while he shrugged.</p> - -<p>"So it isn't plants," he said. "It isn't any more than the Alberts -and working with them. You want to do anything to get away from -them—anything that won't remind you you have to go back."</p> - -<p>"Sure," Dodd said. "Sure I do. So do all of us."</p> - -<p>"Not me," Albin said instantly. "Not me, brother. I get my food and -my clothing and my shelter, just like good old Marx, I guess, says I -should. I'm a trainer for the Alberts, supportive work in the refining -process, and some day I'll be a master trainer and get a little more -pay, a little more status, you know?" He grinned and sat straight. -"What the hell," he said "It's a job. It pays my way. And there's -enough leisure time for fun—and when I say fun I don't mean 3D tapes, -Dodd. I really don't."</p> - -<p>"But you—"</p> - -<p>"Look," Albin said. "That's what's wrong with you, kid. You talk as if -we all had nothing to do but work and watch tapes. What you need is a -little education—a little real education—and I'm the one to give it -to you."</p> - -<p>Dodd opened his eyes. They looked very large and flat, like the eyes -of a jungle animal. "I don't need education," he said. "And I don't -need hobbies. I need to get off this planet, that's all. I need to stop -working with the Alberts. I need to stop being a master and start being -a man again."</p> - -<p>Albin sighed. "Slavery," he said. "You think of slavery and it all -rises up in front of you—Greece, India, China, Rome, England, the -United States—all the past before the Confederation, all the different -slaves." He grinned again. "You think it's terrible, don't you?"</p> - -<p>"It is terrible," Dodd said. "It's—they're people, just like us. They -have a right to their own lives."</p> - -<p>"Sure they do," Albin said. "They have the right to—oh, to starve -and die in that forest out there, for instance. And work out a lot -of primitive rituals, and go through all the Stone Age motions for -thousands of years until they develop civilization like you and me. -Instead of being kept nice and warm and comfortable and taken care of, -and taught things, by the evil old bastards like—well, like you and me -again. Right?"</p> - -<p>"They have rights," Dodd said stubbornly. "They have rights of their -own."</p> - -<p>"Sure they do," Albin agreed with great cheerfulness. "How'd you like -it if they got some of them? Dodd, maybe you'd like to see them starve? -Because it's going to be a long, long time before they develop anything -like a solid civilization, kiddo. And in the meantime a lot of them are -going to die of things we can prevent. Right? And how'd you like that, -Dodd? How would you like that?"</p> - -<p>Dodd hesitated. "We ought to help them," he muttered.</p> - -<p>"Well," Albin said cheerfully, "that's what we are doing. Keeping them -alive, for instance. And teaching them."</p> - -<p>"Teaching," Dodd said. Again his voice had the faintly mocking sound of -an echo. "And what are we teaching them? Push this button for us. Watch -this process for us. If anything changes push this button. Dig here. -Carry there." He paused. "Wonderful—for us. But what good does it do -them?"</p> - -<p>"We've got to live, too," Albin said.</p> - -<p>Dodd stared. "At their expense?"</p> - -<p>"It's a living," Albin said casually, shrugging. Then: "But I'm -serious. One good dose of real enjoyment will cure you, friend. One -good dose of fun—by which, kiddo, I mean plain ordinary old sex, such -as can be had any free evening around here—and you'll stop being -depressed and worried. Uncle Albin Cendar's Priceless Old Recipe, -kiddo, and don't argue with me: it works."</p> - -<p>Dodd said nothing at all. After a few seconds his eyes slowly closed -and he sat like a statue in the room.</p> - -<p>Albin, watching him, whistled inaudibly under his breath. A minute went -by silently. The light in the room began to diminish.</p> - -<p>"Sun's going down," Albin offered.</p> - -<p>There was no response. Albin got up again and went to the window.</p> - -<p>"Maybe you're right," he said with his back to Dodd's still figure. -"There ought to be some way of getting people off-planet, people who -just don't want to stay here."</p> - -<p>"Do you know why there isn't?" Dodd's voice was a shock, stronger than -before.</p> - -<p>"Sure I know," Albin said. "There's—"</p> - -<p>"Slavery," Dodd said. "Oh, sure, maybe somebody knows about it, but -it's got to be kept quiet. And if anybody got back—well, look."</p> - -<p>"Don't bother me with it." Albin's voice was suddenly less sure.</p> - -<p>"Look," Dodd said. "The Confederation needs the metal. It exists pure -here, and in quantity. But if they knew, really knew, how we mined and -smelted and purified it and got it ready for shipment...."</p> - -<p>"So suppose somebody goes back," Albin said. "Suppose somebody talks. -What difference does it make? It's just rumor, nothing official. No, -the reason nobody goes back is cargo space, pure and simple. We need -every inch of cargo space for the shipments."</p> - -<p>"If somebody goes back," Dodd said, "the people will know. Not the -government, not the businesses, the people. And the people don't like -slavery, Albin. No matter how necessary a government finds it. No -matter what kind of a jerry-built defense you can put up for it."</p> - -<p>"Don't be silly," Albin said. There was less conviction in his voice; -he looked out at the sunset as if he were trying to reassure himself.</p> - -<p>"Nobody's allowed to leave," Dodd said, more quietly. "We're—they're -taking every precaution they can. But some day—maybe some day, -Albin—the people are going to find out in spite of every precaution." -He sat straighter. "And then it'll all be over. Then they'll be wiped -out, Albin. Wiped out."</p> - -<p>"They need us," Albin said uncertainly. "They can't do without us."</p> - -<p>Dodd swung round to face him. The sunset was a deepening blaze in the -Commons Room. "Wait and find out," he said in a voice that suddenly -rang on the metal walls. "Wait and find out."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>After a long time Albin said. "Damn it, what you need is education. A -cure. Fun. What I've been saying." He paused and took a breath. "How -about it, Dodd?"</p> - -<p>Dodd didn't move. Another second passed. "All right, Albin," he said -slowly, at last. "I'll think about it. I'll think about it."</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="c3" id="c3">3</a></h2> - - -<p>The sleeping room for the Small Ones was, by comparison with the great -Commons Room only the masters inhabited, a tiny place. It had only the -smallest of windows, so placed as to allow daylight without any sight -of the outside; the windows were plastic-sheeted slits high up on the -metal walls, no more. The room was, at best, dim, during the day, but -that hardly mattered: during the day the room was empty. Only at night, -when the soft artificial lights went on, shedding the glow from their -wall-shielded tubes, was the room fit for normal vision. There were -no decorations, of course, and no chairs: the Alberts had no use for -chairs, and decorations were a refinement no master had yet bothered to -think of. The Alberts were hardly taught to appreciate such things in -any case: that was not what they had come to learn: it was not useful.</p> - -<p>The floor of the room was covered with soft leaves striped a glossy -brown over the pervasive gray-green of the planet's foliage. These -served as a soft mat for sleeping, and were also the staple food of the -Alberts. These were not disturbed to find their food strewn in such -irregular heaps and drifts across the metal floor: in their birth sacs, -they had lived by ingestion from the floor of the forest, and, later, -they had been so fed in the Birth Huts to which the Elders had taken -them, and where they had been cleaned and served and taught, among -other matters, English.</p> - -<p>What they had been taught was, at any rate, English of a sort, bearing -within it the seeds of a more complex tongue, and having its roots far -back in the pre-space centuries, when missionaries had first begun to -visit strange lands. Men had called it pidgin and Beche-le-mer and a -hundred different names in a hundred different variations. Here, the -masters called it English. The Alberts called it words, and nothing -more.</p> - -<p>Now, after sunset, they filed in, thirty or so jewel-green cyclopean -alligators at the end of their first day of training, waddling clumsily -past the doorway and settled with a grateful, crouching squat on the -leaves that served as bed and food. None were bothered by the act of -sitting on the leaves: for one thing, they had no concept of dirt. In -the second place, they were rather remarkably clean. They had neither -sex organs, in any human sense of the word, or specific organs of -evacuation: their entire elimination was gaseous. Air ducts in the room -would draw off the waste products, and the Alberts never noticed them: -they had, in fact, no conception of evacuation as a process, since to -them the entire procedure was invisible and impalpable.</p> - -<p>The last of them filed in, and the masters—two of them, carrying long -metal tubes—shut the door. The Alberts were alone. The door's clang -was followed by other sounds as the lock was thrown. The new noises, -and the strangeness of bare metal walls and artificial light, still -novel after only a single day's training, gave rise to something very -like a panic, and a confused babble of voices arose from the crowd.</p> - -<p>"What is this?"</p> - -<p>"What place is this?"</p> - -<p>"It is a training place."</p> - -<p>"My name Hortat. My name Hortat."</p> - -<p>"What is training?"</p> - -<p>"There is food here."</p> - -<p>"What place is this?"</p> - -<p>"Where are elders?"</p> - -<p>"Are masters here?"</p> - -<p>"My food."</p> - -<p>"Is this a place for sleeping?"</p> - -<p>"Training is to do what a master says. Training—"</p> - -<p>"There are no elders. My name Hortat."</p> - -<p>"My place."</p> - -<p>"My food."</p> - -<p>"Where is this?"</p> - -<p>"Where is this place?"</p> - -<p>Like the stirring of a child in sleep, the panic lasted only a little -while, and gave way to an apathetic peace. Here and there an Albert -munched on a leaf, holding it up before his wide mouth in the pose of a -giant squirrel. Others sat quietly looking at the walls or the door or -the window, or at nothing. One, whose name was Cadnan, stirred briefly -and dropped the leaf he was eating and turned to the Albert next to him.</p> - -<p>"Marvor," he said. "Are you troubled?"</p> - -<p>Marvor seemed slighter than Cadnan, and his single eye larger, but -both looked very much alike to humans, as members of other races, and -particularly such races as the human in question judges inferior, are -prone to do. "I do not know what happens," he said in a flat tone. "I -do not know what is this place, or what we do."</p> - -<p>"This is the place of masters," Cadnan said. "We train here, and we -work here, and live here. It is the rule of the masters."</p> - -<p>"Yet I do not know," Marvor said. "This training is a hard thing, and -the work is also hard when it comes."</p> - -<p>Cadnan closed his eye for a second, to relax, but he found he wanted to -talk. His first day in the world of the masters had been too confusing -for him to order it into any sensible structure. Conversation, of -whatever kind, was a release, and might provide more facts. Cadnan was -hungry for facts.</p> - -<p>He opened his eye again.</p> - -<p>"It is what the masters say," he told Marvor. "The masters say we do a -thing, and we do it. This is right."</p> - -<p>Marvor bent toward him. "Why is it right?" he asked.</p> - -<p>"Because the masters say it is right," Cadnan told him, with the -surprised air of a person explaining the obvious. "The elders, too, say -it before we come to this place." He added the final sentence like a -totally unnecessary clincher—unimportant by comparison with the first -reason, but adding a little weight of its own, and making the whole -story even more satisfying.</p> - -<p>Marvor, however, didn't seem satisfied. "The masters always speak -truth," he said. "Is this what you tell me?"</p> - -<p>"It is true," Cadnan said flatly.</p> - -<p>Marvor reflected for a second. "It may be," he said at last. He turned -away, found a leaf and began to munch on it slowly. Cadnan picked up -his own leaf quite automatically, and it was several seconds before he -realized that Marvor had ended the conversation. He didn't want it to -end. Talk, he told himself dimly, was a good thing.</p> - -<p>"Marvor," he said, "do you question the masters?" It was a difficult -sentence to frame: the idea itself would never have occurred to him -without Marvor's prodding, and it seemed now no more than the wildest -possible flight of fancy. But Marvor, turning, did not treat it -fancifully at all.</p> - -<p>"I question all," he said soberly. "It is good to question all."</p> - -<p>"But the masters—" Cadnan said.</p> - -<p>Marvor turned away again without answering.</p> - -<p>Cadnan stared at his leaf for a time. His mind was troubled, and there -were no ready solutions in it. He was not of the temperament to fasten -himself to easy solutions. He had instead to hammer out his ideas -slowly and carefully: then when he had reached a conclusion of some -kind, he had confidence in it and knew it would last.</p> - -<p>Marvor was just the same—but perhaps there had been something wrong -with him from the beginning. Otherwise, Cadnan realized, he would -never have questioned the masters. None of the Alberts questioned the -masters, any more than they questioned their food or the air they -breathed.</p> - -<p>After a time Marvor spoke again. "I am different," he said, "I am not -like others."</p> - -<p>Cadnan thought this too obvious to be worth reply, and waited.</p> - -<p>"The elders tell me in the hut I am different," Marvor went on. "When -they come to bring food they tell me this."</p> - -<p>Cadnan took a deep breath of the air. It was, of course, scented with -the musk of the Alberts, but Cadnan could not recognize it: like his -fellows, he had no sense of smell. "Different is not good," he said, -perceiving a lesson.</p> - -<p>"You find out how different I am." Marvor sat very still. His voice was -still flat but the tone carried something very like a threat. Cadnan, -involved in his own thinking, ignored it.</p> - -<p>"The masters are big and we are small," he said slowly. "The masters -know better than we know."</p> - -<p>"That is silliness," Marvor said instantly. "I want things. They make -me do training. Why can I not do what I want to do?"</p> - -<p>"Maybe," Cadnan said with care, "it is bad."</p> - -<p>Marvor made a hissing sound. "Maybe they are bad," he said. "Maybe the -masters and the elders are bad."</p> - -<p>Matters had gone so far that even this thought found a tentative -lodgment in Cadnan's mind. But, almost at once, it was rejected as a -serious concept. "They give us leaves to eat," he said. "They keep us -here, warm and dry in this place. How is this bad?"</p> - -<p>Marvor closed his eye and made the hissing sound again; it was -equivalent to a laugh of rejection. He turned among the leaves and -found enough room to lie down: in a few seconds he was either asleep -or imitating sleep very well. Cadnan looked at him hopefully, and then -turned away. A female was watching him from the other side, her eyes -wide and unblinking.</p> - -<p>"You ask many questions," the female said. "You speak much."</p> - -<p>Cadnan blinked his eye at her. "I want to learn," he said.</p> - -<p>"Is it good to learn?" the female asked. The question made Cadnan -uncomfortable: who knew, for certain, what was good? He knew he would -have to think it out for a long time. But the female wanted an answer.</p> - -<p>"It is good," he said casually.</p> - -<p>The female accepted that with quiet passivity. "My name is Dara," she -said. "It is what I am called."</p> - -<p>Cadnan said: "I am Cadnan." He found himself tired, and Dara apparently -saw this and withdrew, leaving him to sleep.</p> - -<p>But his sleep was troubled, and it seemed a long time before day came -and the door opened again to show the masters with their strange metal -tubes standing outside in the corridor.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="c4" id="c4">4</a></h2> - - -<p>"I'm not going to take no for an answer."</p> - -<p>Albin stood in the doorway of his room, slouching against the metal -lintel and looking even more like a gnome. Dodd sighed softly and got -up from the single chair. "I'm not anxious for a party," he said. "All -I want to do is go to sleep."</p> - -<p>"At nine o'clock?" Albin shook his head.</p> - -<p>"Maybe I'm tired."</p> - -<p>"You're not tired," Albin said. "You're scared. You're scared of what -you might find out there in the cold, cruel world, friend. You're -scared of parties and strange people and noise. You want to be left -alone to brood, right?"</p> - -<p>"No, I—"</p> - -<p>"But I'm not going to leave you alone to brood," Albin said. "Because -I'm your friend. And brooding isn't good for you. It's brooding that's -got you into such a state—where you worry about growing things, for -God's sake, and about freedom and silly things like that." Albin -grinned. "What you've got to do is stop worrying, and I know how to get -you to do that, kiddo. I really do."</p> - -<p>"Sure you do," Dodd said, and his voice began to rise. He went to the -bed, walked along its length to the window, as he talked, never facing -Albin. "You know how to make me feel just fine, no worries at all, no -complications, just a nice, simple life. With nothing at all in it, -Albin. Nothing at all."</p> - -<p>"Now, come on—" Albin began.</p> - -<p>"Nothing," Dodd said. "Go to parties, drink, meet a girl, forget, go -right on forgetting, and then one day you wake up and it's over and -what have you got?"</p> - -<p>"Parties," Albin said. "Girls. Drinks. What else is there?"</p> - -<p>"A lot," Dodd said. "I want—oh, God, I don't know what I want. Too -much. Too many ideas ... trapped here being a master, and that's no -good."</p> - -<p>"Dodd," Albin said, in what was almost a worried tone, "what the hell -are you talking about?"</p> - -<p>"Being a master," Dodd said. "There shouldn't be masters. Or slaves. -Just—beings, able to do what they want to do ... what makes me any -better than the Alberts, anyhow?"</p> - -<p>"The Belbis beam, for one thing," Albin said. "Position, power, -protection, punishment. What makes anybody better than anybody else?"</p> - -<p>"But that's the point—don't you see?"</p> - -<p>Albin stood upright, massaging his arm. "What I see is a case of -worry," he said, "and as a doctor I have certain responsibilities. I've -got to take care of that case of worries, and I'm not going to take no -for an answer."</p> - -<p>"Leave me alone," Dodd said. "Just do me a favor. Leave me alone."</p> - -<p>"Come with me," Albin said. "This once. Look—what can you lose? Just -once can't hurt you—you can do all the brooding you want to do some -other time. Give me a present. Come to the party with me."</p> - -<p>"I don't like parties."</p> - -<p>"And I don't like going alone," Albin said. "So do me a favor."</p> - -<p>"Where is it?" Dodd asked after a second.</p> - -<p>Albin beamed. "Psych division," he said. "Come on."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The metal door was festooned with paper drapery in red and blue. -Dodd turned before they got to it, standing about five feet down the -corridor. "How did you find out about a party in Psych division?" he -asked.</p> - -<p>Albin shrugged. "I'm an active type," he said. "I've got friends all -over. You'd be surprised how many friends a man can have, Dodd, if he -goes to parties. If he meets people instead of brooding."</p> - -<p>"All right," Dodd said. "I'm here, aren't I? You've convinced me—stop -the propaganda."</p> - -<p>"Sure." Albin went up to the door and knocked. From inside they could -hear a dim babel of voices. After a second he knocked again, more -loudly.</p> - -<p>A voice rose above the hum. "Who's there?"</p> - -<p>"A friend," Albin said. "The password is Haenlingen-on-fire."</p> - -<p>The voice broke into laughter. "Oh," it said. It was now -distinguishingly a female voice. "It's you, Cendar. But hold it down on -the Haenlingen stuff: she's supposed to be arriving."</p> - -<p>"At a party?" Albin said. "She's a hundred and twelve—older than that. -What does she want with parties? Don't be silly."</p> - -<p>The door opened. A slim, blonde girl stood by it, her mouth still -grinning. "Cendar, I mean it," she said. "You watch out. One of these -days you're going to get into trouble."</p> - -<p>Behind her the hum had risen to a chorus of mad clatter, conversation, -laughter, song—the girl dragged Albin and Dodd inside and shut the -door. "I'm always in trouble," Albin was saying. "It keeps life -interesting." But it was hard to hear him, hard to hear any single -voice in the swell of noise.</p> - -<p>"Thank God for soundproofing," the girl said. "We can do whatever we -like and there's no noise out there."</p> - -<p>"The drapes give you away," Albin said.</p> - -<p>"Let the drapes give us away," the girl said. "We're entitled to have -quiet little gatherings, right? And who knows what goes on behind the -drapes?"</p> - -<p>"Right," Albin said. "You are right. You are absolutely, incredibly, -stunningly right. And to prove how right you are I'm going to do you a -favor."</p> - -<p>"What kind of favor?" the girl said with mock suspicion.</p> - -<p>"Greta," Albin said, "I'm going to introduce you to a nice young man."</p> - -<p>"You don't know any nice young men."</p> - -<p>"I know this one," Albin said. "Greta Forzane, Johnny Dodd. Take good -care of him, kiddo—he needs it."</p> - -<p>"What do you mean, good care of him?" she said. But Albin was gone, -into the main body of the party, a melee confused enough so that he was -lost in twenty steps. Greta turned back almost hopeless eyes.</p> - -<p>A second passed.</p> - -<p>"You a friend of Cendar's?" Greta asked.</p> - -<p>Johnny blinked and came back to her. "Oh, Albin?" he said. -"We're—acquaintances."</p> - -<p>"Friends," Greta said firmly. "That's nice. He's such a nice guy—I -bet you are, too." She smiled and took his arm. Her hand was slightly -warm and very dry. Johnny took his first real look at her: she seemed -shining, somehow, as if the hair had been lacquered, the face sprayed -with a clear polish. The picture she made was vaguely unpleasant, and a -little threatening.</p> - -<p>"A nice guy?" he said. "I wouldn't know, Miss Forzane."</p> - -<p>"Oh, come on, now," she said. "The name is Greta. And you're -Johnny—right?"</p> - -<p>" ... Right."</p> - -<p>"You know," Greta said, "you're cute."</p> - -<p>Behind her the party was still going on, but its volume seemed to have -diminished a little. Or maybe, Johnny thought, he was getting used to -it. "You're cute too," he said awkwardly, not knowing any more what he -did want to do, or where he wanted to be. Her grasp on his arm was the -main fact in the world.</p> - -<p>"Thanks," she said. "Here."</p> - -<p>And as suddenly as that she was in his arms, plastered up against him, -pressed to him as tightly as he could imagine, her mouth on his, her -hands locked behind his neck: he was choking, he couldn't breathe, he -couldn't move....</p> - -<p>The door behind him opened and shoved him gently across his back.</p> - -<p>He fell, and he fell on top of her.</p> - -<p>It seemed as if the entire party had stopped to watch him. There was no -noise. There was no sound at all. He climbed to his feet to face the -eyes and found they were not on him, but behind him.</p> - -<p>A tiny white-haired woman stood there, her mouth one thin line of -disapproval. "Well," she said. "Having a good time?"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>In Dodd's mind, then and later, the sign began.</p> - -<p>That was, as far as he could ever remember, the first second he had -even seen it. It was there, behind his eyes, blinking on and off, like -a neon sign. Sometimes he paid no attention to it, but it was always -there, always telling him the same thing.</p> - -<p><i>This is the end.</i></p> - -<p><i>This is the end.</i></p> - -<p><i>This is the end.</i></p> - -<p>He looked into that ancient grim face and the sign began. And from then -on it never stopped, never stopped at all—</p> - -<p>Until, of course, the end.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p class="ph3">PUBLIC OPINION ONE</p> - -<p>Being an excerpt from a speech delivered by Grigor Pellasin (Citizen, -white male, age forty-seven, two arrests for Disorderly Conduct, -occupation variable, residence variable) in the district of Hyde -Park, city of London, country of England, planet Earth of the -Confederation, in the year of the Confederation two hundred and ten, -on May fourteenth, from two-thirty-seven P. M. (Greenwich) until -three-forty-six P. M. (Greenwich), no serious incidents reported.</p></div> - -<div class="blockquot2"> -<p>They all talk about equality, friends, and you know what equality is? -Equality is a license to rob you blind and steal you blind, to cut you -up and leave the pieces for the garbage collector, to stuff what's left -of you down an oubliette, friend, and forget about you. That's what -equality is, friends, and don't you let them tell you any different.</p> - -<p>Why, years ago there used to be servants, people who did what you told -them. And the servants got liberated, friends, they all got freedom and -equality so they were just like us. Maybe you can remember about those -servants, because they're all in the history books, and the historical -novels, and maybe you do a little light reading now and then, am I -right about that?</p> - -<p>Well, sir, those servants got themselves liberated, and do you think -they liked it? Do you think they liked being free and equal?</p> - -<p>Oh, don't ask the government, friends, because the government is going -to tell you they liked it just fine, going to tell you they loved it -being just like everybody else, free and equal and liberated at last.</p> - -<p>The government's going to tell you a lot of things, and my advice -is, friends, my advice is do some looking and listening for yourself -and think it all out to the right conclusions. Otherwise you're -just letting the government do all your thinking for you and that's -something you don't want.</p> - -<p>No, friends, you do your own thinking and you figure out whether they -liked being free, these servants.</p> - -<p>You know what being free meant for them?</p> - -<p>It meant being out of work.</p> - -<p>And how do you think they liked that?</p> - -<p>Now, maybe here among us today, among you kind people listening to what -I've got to say to you, maybe there are one or two who've been out of -work during their lifetimes. Am I right? Well, friends, you tell the -others here what it felt like.</p> - -<p>It felt hopeless and dragged-out and like something you'd never want to -go through again, am I right?</p> - -<p>Of course I'm right, friends. But there was nothing you could do about -being out of work. If you were out of work that was that, and you were -through, no chance, no place to move.</p> - -<p>These servants, friends, they liked being servants. I know that's hard -to believe because everybody's been telling you different all your -lives, but you just do a little independent thinking, the way I have, -and you'll see. It was a good job, being a servant. It was steady and -dependable and you knew where you stood.</p> - -<p>Better than being out of work? You bet your last credit, you bet your -very last ounce of bounce on that, friends.</p> - -<p>And better than a lot of other things, too. They were safe and warm and -happy, and they felt fine.</p> - -<p>And then a lot of busybodies came along and liberated them.</p> - -<p>Well, friends, some of them went right back and asked to be servants -again—they did so. It's a historical fact. But that was no good: the -machines had taken over and there was no room for them.</p> - -<p>They were liberated for good.</p> - -<p>And the lesson you learn from that, friends, is just this: don't go -around liberating people until you know what they want. Maybe they're -happier the way they are.</p> - -<p>Now, out on a far planet there's a strange race. Maybe you've heard -about them, because they work for us, they help get us the metals we -need to keep going. They're part of the big line of supply that keeps -us all alive, you and me both.</p> - -<p>And there are some people talking about liberating those creatures, -too, which aren't even human beings. They're green and they got one -eye apiece, and they don't talk English except a little, or any -Confederation tongue.</p> - -<p>Yet even so there are people who want to liberate those creatures.</p> - -<p>Now, you sit back and think a minute. Do those creatures want to be -liberated? Is it like liberating you and me, who know what's what and -can think and make decisions? Because being free and equal means voting -and everything else. Do you want these green creatures voting in the -same assemblies as yours?</p> - -<p>If it were cruel to keep them the way they are, working on their own -world and being fed and kept warm and safe, why, I'd say go ahead and -liberate them. But what's cruel about it, friends?</p> - -<p>They're safe—safer than they would be on their own.</p> - -<p>They're fed well and kept warm.</p> - -<p>And remember those servants, friends. Maybe the greenies like their -life, too. It's their world and their metal—they have a right to help -send it along.</p> - -<p>You don't want to act hastily, friends, now do you?</p> - -<p>My advice to you is this: just let the greenies alone. Just let them -be, the way they want to be, and don't go messing around where there's -no need to mess around. Because if anybody starts to do that, why, it -can lead to trouble, friends, to a whole lot of unnecessary bother and -trouble.</p> - -<p>Am I right?</p></div> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="c5" id="c5">5</a></h2> - - -<p>"I don't mind parties, Norma, not ordinary parties. But that one didn't -look like an ordinary party."</p> - -<p>Norma stood her ground in front of the desk. This, after all, was -important "But, Dr. Haenlingen, we—"</p> - -<p>"Don't try to persuade me," the little old woman said sharply. "Don't -try to cozen me into something: I know all the tricks, Norma. I -invented a good third of them, and it's been a long time since I had to -use a textbook to remember the rest."</p> - -<p>"I'm not trying to persuade you of anything." The woman wouldn't -listen, that was the whole trouble: in the harsh bright light of -morning she sat like a stone statue, casting a shadow of black on the -polished desk. This was Dr. Haenlingen—and how did you talk to Dr. -Haenlingen? But it was important, Norma reminded herself again: it was -perfectly possible that the entire group of people at the party would -be downgraded, or at the least get marked down on their records. "But -we weren't doing anything harmful. If you have a party you've got to -expect people to—oh, to get over-enthusiastic, maybe. But certainly -there was nothing worth getting angry about. There was—"</p> - -<p>"I'm sure you've thought all this out," Dr. Haenlingen said tightly. -"You seem to have your case well prepared, and it would be a pleasure -to listen to you."</p> - -<p>"But—"</p> - -<p>"Unfortunately," the woman continued in a voice like steel, "I have a -great deal of work to do this morning."</p> - -<p>"Dr. Haenlingen—"</p> - -<p>"I'm sorry," she said, but she didn't sound sorry in the least. Her -eyes went down to a pile of papers on the desk. A second passed.</p> - -<p>"You've got to listen to me," Norma said. "What you're doing is unfair."</p> - -<p>Dr. Haenlingen didn't look up. "Oh?"</p> - -<p>"They were just—having fun," Norma said. "There was nothing wrong, -nothing at all. You happened to come in at a bad moment, but it didn't -mean anything, there wasn't anything going on that should have bothered -you...."</p> - -<p>"Perhaps not," Dr. Haenlingen said. "Unfortunately, what bothers me is -not reducible to rule."</p> - -<p>"But you're going to act on it," Norma said. "You're going to—"</p> - -<p>"Yes?" Dr. Haenlingen said. "What am I going to do?"</p> - -<p>"Well, you—"</p> - -<p>"Downgrade the persons who were there?" Dr. Haenlingen asked. "Enter -remarks in the permanent records? Prevent promotion? Just what am I -supposed to have in mind?"</p> - -<p>"Well, I thought—I—"</p> - -<p>"I plan," Dr. Haenlingen said, "nothing whatever. Not just at present. -I want to think about what I saw, about the people I saw. At present, -nothing more."</p> - -<p>There was a little silence. Norma felt herself relax. Then she asked: -"At present?"</p> - -<p>Dr. Haenlingen looked up at her, the eyes ice-cold and direct. "What -action I determine to take," she said, "will be my responsibility. Mine -alone. I do not intend to discuss it, or to attempt to justify it, to -you or to anyone."</p> - -<p>"Yes, Dr. Haenlingen." Norma stood awkwardly. "Thank you—"</p> - -<p>"Don't thank me—yet," Dr. Haenlingen said. "Go and do your own work. -I've got quite a lot to oversee here." She went back to her papers. -Norma turned, stopped and then walked to the door. At the door she -turned again but Dr. Haenlingen was paying no visible attention to -her. She opened the door, went out and closed it behind her.</p> - -<p>In the corridor she took one deep breath and then another.</p> - -<p>The trouble was, you couldn't depend on the woman to do anything. She -meant exactly what she had said: "For the present." And who could tell -what might happen later?</p> - -<p>Norma headed for her own cubicle, where she ignored the papers and the -telephone messages waiting for her and reached for the intercom button -instead. She pushed it twice and a voice said:</p> - -<p>"What happened?"</p> - -<p>"It's not good, Greta," Norma said. "It's—well, undecided, anyhow: -we've got that much going for us."</p> - -<p>"Undecided?" the voice asked.</p> - -<p>"She said she wouldn't do anything—yet. But she left it open."</p> - -<p>"Oh. Lord. Oh, my."</p> - -<p>Norma nodded at the intercom speaker. "That's right. Anything's -possible—you know what she's like."</p> - -<p>"Oh, Lord. Do I."</p> - -<p>"And—Greta, why did you have to be there, right by the door, with that -strange type—as if it had been set up for her? Right in front of her -eyes...."</p> - -<p>"An accident," Greta said. "A pure by-God accident. When she walked -in, when I saw her, believe me, Norma, my blood ran absolutely cold. -Temperature of ice, or something colder than ice."</p> - -<p>"Just that one look, just that one long look around." Norma said, "and -she was gone. As if she'd memorized us, every one of us, filed the -whole thing away and didn't need to see any more."</p> - -<p>"I would have explained. But there wasn't any time."</p> - -<p>"I know," Norma said. "Greta, who was he, anyhow?"</p> - -<p>"Him?" Greta said. "Who knows? A friend of Cendar's—you know Cendar, -don't you?"</p> - -<p>"Albin Cendar?"</p> - -<p>"That's the one. He—"</p> - -<p>"But he's not from Psych." Norma said.</p> - -<p>"Neither is his friend, I guess," Greta said. "But they come over, you -know that—Cendar's always around."</p> - -<p>"And you had to invite them...."</p> - -<p>"Invite?" Greta said. "I didn't invite anybody. They were there, that's -all. Cendar always shows up. You know that."</p> - -<p>"Great," Nonna said. "So last night he had to bring a friend and the -friend got grabby—"</p> - -<p>"No," Greta said. "He was—well, confused maybe. Never been to a party -of ours before, or anyhow not that I remember. I was trying to—loosen -him up."</p> - -<p>"You loosened everybody up," Norma said.</p> - -<p>There was a silence.</p> - -<p>"I'm sorry," Norma said. "All right. You couldn't have known—"</p> - -<p>"I didn't know anything," Greta's voice said. "She was there, that's -all."</p> - -<p>"I wonder whether Dr. Haenlingen knew him," Norma said. "The new one, I -mean."</p> - -<p>"His name was Johnny something," Greta said.</p> - -<p>"We'll just have to wait and find out," Norma said. "Whatever she's -going to do, there isn't any way to stop it. I did the best I could—"</p> - -<p>"Sure you did," Greta said. "We know that. Sure."</p> - -<p>"Cendar and his friends—" Norma began.</p> - -<p>"Oh, forget about that," Greta said. "Who cares about them?"</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="c6" id="c6">6</a></h2> - - -<p>The party had meant nothing, nothing at all, and Albin told himself he -could forget all about it.</p> - -<p>If Haenlingen wanted to take any action, he insisted, she'd take it -against her own division. The Psych people would get most of it. Why, -she probably didn't even know who Albin Cendar was....</p> - -<p>But the Psych division knew a lot they weren't supposed to know. Maybe -she would even....</p> - -<p>Forget about it, Albin told himself. He closed his eyes for a second -and concentrated on his work. That, at least, was something to keep him -from worrying: the whole process of training was something he could -use in forgetting all about the party, and Haenlingen, and possible -consequences.... He took a few breaths and forced his mind away from -all of that, back to the training.</p> - -<p>Training was a dreary waste of time, as a matter of fact—except that -it happened to be necessary. There was no doubt of that: without -sufficient manual labor, the metal would not be dug, the smelters -would not run, the purifying stages and the cooling stages and even -the shipping itself would simply stop. Automation would have solved -everything, but automation was expensive. The Alberts were cheap—so -Fruyling's World used Alberts instead of transistors and cryogenic -relays.</p> - -<p>And if you were going to use Alberts at all, Albin thought, you sure as -hell had to train them. God alone knew what harm they could do, left -alone in a wilderness of delicate machinery without any instructions.</p> - -<p>All the same, "dreary" was the word for it. (An image of Dr. -Haenlingen's frozen face floated into his mind. He pushed it away. It -was morning. It was time for work.)</p> - -<p>He met Derban at the turn in the corridor, perhaps fifty feet before -the Alberts' door. That wasn't strictly according to the rules, and -Albin knew it: he had learned the code as early as anyone else. But the -rules were for emergencies—and emergencies didn't happen any more. The -Alberts weren't about to revolt.</p> - -<p>He was carrying his Belbis beam, of course. The little metal tube -didn't look like much, but it was guaranteed to stop anything short -of a spaceship in its tracks, and by the very simple method of making -holes. The Belbis beam would make holes in nearly anything: Alberts, -people or most materials. It projected a quarter-inch beam of force in -as near a straight line as Einsteinian physics would allow, and it was -extremely efficient. Albin had been practicing with it for three years, -twice a week.</p> - -<p>Everybody did. Not that there's ever been a chance to use it.</p> - -<p>And there wasn't going to be a chance, Albin decided. He exchanged a -word or two absently with Derban and they went to the door together. -Albin reached for the door but Derban's big brown hand was already on -it. He grinned and swung the door open.</p> - -<p>Air conditioning had done something to minimize the reek inside, but -not much. Albin devoted most of his attention to keeping his face a -complete mask. The last thing he wanted was to retch—not in front of -the Alberts, who didn't really exist for him, but in front of Derban. -And the party (which he wasn't going to think about) hadn't left his -stomach in perfect shape.</p> - -<p>The Alberts, seeing these masters enter stirred and rose. Albin barked -at them in a voice that was only very slightly choked: "Form a line. -Form a line."</p> - -<p>The Alberts milled around, quite obviously uncertain what a line was. -Albin gripped his beam tighter, not because it was a weapon but just -because he needed something handy to take out his anger on.</p> - -<p>"Damn it," he said tightly, "a line. Form a straight line."</p> - -<p>"It's only their second day," Derban said in a low voice. "Give them -time." Albin could barely hear him over the confused babble of the -Alberts. He shook his head and felt a new stab of anger.</p> - -<p>"One behind the other," he told the milling crowd. "A line, a straight -line."</p> - -<p>After a little more confusion, Albin was satisfied. He sighed heavily -and beckoned with his beam: the Alberts started forward, through the -door and out into the corridor.</p> - -<p>Albin went before, Derban behind, falling naturally into step. They -came to the great elevator and Albin pushed a stud. The door slid open.</p> - -<p>The Alberts, though, didn't want to go in. They huddled, looking at -the elevator with big round eyes, muttering to themselves and to -each other. Derban spoke up calmly: "This is the same room you were -in yesterday. It won't hurt you. Just go through the door. It's all -right." But the words had very little effect. A few of the Alberts -moved closer and then, discovering that they were alone, hurriedly -moved back again. The elevator door remained open, waiting.</p> - -<p>Albin, ready to shriek with rage by now, felt a touch at his arm. One -of the Alberts was standing near him, looking up. Its eye blinked: it -spoke. "Why does the room move?" The voice was not actually unpleasant, -but its single eye stared at Albin, making him uncomfortable. He told -himself not to blow up. Calm. <i>Calm.</i></p> - -<p>"The room moves because it moves," he said, a little too quickly. -"Because the masters tell it to move. What do you want to know for?"</p> - -<p>"I want to learn," the Albert said calmly.</p> - -<p>"Well, don't ask questions," Albin said. He kept one eye on the -shifting mob. "If there's anything good for you to know, you'll be -told. Meanwhile, just don't ask any questions."</p> - -<p>The Albert looked downcast. "Can I learn without questions?"</p> - -<p>Albin's control snapped. "Damn it, you'll learn what you have to!" he -yelled. "You don't have to ask questions—you're a slave. A slave! Get -that through your green head and shut up!"</p> - -<p>The tone had two effects. First, it made the Albert near him move back, -staring at him still with that single bright eye. Second, the others -started for the elevator, apparently pushed more by the tone than the -words. A master was angry. That, they judged, meant trouble. Acceding -to his wishes was the safest thing to do.</p> - -<p>And so, in little, frightened bunches, they went in. When they were all -clear of the door, Albin and Derban stepped in, too, and the doors slid -shut. Derban took a second to mutter secretly: "You don't have to lose -your temper. You're on a hell of a thin edge this morning."</p> - -<p>Albin flicked his eyes over the brown face, the stocky, stolid figure. -"So I'm on a thin edge," he said. "Aren't you?"</p> - -<p>"Training is training," Derban said. "Got to put up with it, because -what can you do about it?"</p> - -<p>Albin grinned wryly. "I told somebody else that, last night," he said. -"Man named Dodd—hell, you know Johnny Dodd. Told him he needed some -fun. Holy jumping beavers—fun."</p> - -<p>"Maybe you need some," Derban said.</p> - -<p>"Not like last night, I don't," Albin said, and the elevator door -opened.</p> - -<p>Now others took over, guiding the Alberts to their individual places on -the training floor. Each had a small room to himself, and each room had -a spy-TV high up in a corner as a safeguard.</p> - -<p>But the spy-eyes were just as much good as the beams, Albin thought. -They were useless precautions: rebellion wasn't about to happen. It -made more sense, if you thought about it, to worry the way Johnny Dodd -worried, about the Confederation—against which spy-eyes and Belbis -beams weren't going to do any good anyhow. (And nothing was going to -happen. Nothing, he told himself firmly, was going to happen. Nothing.)</p> - -<p>The Alberts were shunted off without trouble. Albin, heaving a small -sigh, fixed the details of his next job in his mind: quality control -in a smelting process. It took him a few seconds to calm down and get -ready, and then he headed for room six, where one Albert waited for -him, trying to think only of the job ahead, and not at all of the -party, of Dr. Haenlingen, of Johnny Dodd, of rebellion and war.</p> - -<p>He nearly succeeded.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>When he opened the door the Albert inside turned, took a single look at -him, and said: "I do not mean to make masters troubled."</p> - -<p>Albin said: "What?"</p> - -<p>"I do not ask questions now." Albin blinked, and then grinned.</p> - -<p>"Oh," he said. "You're the one. Damn right you don't ask questions. You -just listen to what I tell you—got that?"</p> - -<p>"I listen," the Albert said.</p> - -<p>Albin shut the door and leaned against it. "Okay," he said. "Now the -first thing, you come over here and watch me." He went to the far side -of the room, flicked on the remote set, and waited for it to warm up. -In a few seconds it held a strong, steady picture: a single smelter, a -ladle, an expanse of flooring.</p> - -<p>"I see this when you teach me before," the Albert said in almost a -disappointed tone.</p> - -<p>"I know," Albin told it. Routine was taking over and he felt almost -cheerful again. There was a woman working in the food labs in Building -Two. He'd noticed her a few times in the past weeks. Now he thought of -her again, happily. Maybe tonight "This time I'm going to show you what -to do," he told the Albert, and swept a hand over a row of buttons. In -the smelter, metal began to heat.</p> - -<p>The job was simple enough: the metal, once heated, had to be poured -out into the ladle, which acted as a carrier to take the stuff on to -its next station. The only critical point was the color of the heated -liquid, and the eyes of Alberts and humans saw the same spectrum, -with perhaps a little more discrimination in the eyes of the Alberts. -This Albert had to be taught to let the process go unless the color -was wrong, when a series of buttons would stop everything and send a -quality alarm into men's quarters.</p> - -<p>A machine could have done the job very easily, but machines were -expensive. An Albert could be taught in a week.</p> - -<p>And this one seemed to learn more quickly than most. It grasped the -idea of button-pushing before the end of the day, and Albin made a -mental note to see if he could speed matters up, maybe by letting the -Albert have a crack at actually doing the job on its own by day four or -five instead of day six.</p> - -<p>"You learn fast," he said, when work was finally over. He felt both -tired and tense, but the thought of relaxation ahead kept him nearly -genial.</p> - -<p>"I want to learn," the Albert said.</p> - -<p>"Good boy," Albin said absently. "What's your name?"</p> - -<p>"Cadnan."</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="c7" id="c7">7</a></h2> - - -<p>But Cadnan, he knew, was only a small name: it was not a great name. He -knew now that he had a great name, and it made him proud because he was -no longer only small Cadnan: he was a slave.</p> - -<p>It was good, he knew, to be a slave. A slave worked and got food and -shelter from the masters, and the masters told him what he could know -without even the need of asking a question. The elders were only -elders, but the masters were masters, and Cadnan was a slave. It made -him feel great and wise when he thought of it.</p> - -<p>That night he could hardly wait to tell his news to Marvor—but Marvor -acted as if he knew it already and was even made angry by the idea. -"What is a slave?" he asked, in a flat, bad tone.</p> - -<p>Cadnan told him of the work, the food, the shelter....</p> - -<p>"And what is a master?" Marvor asked.</p> - -<p>"A master is a master," Cadnan said. "A master is the one who knows."</p> - -<p>"A master tells you what to do," Marvor said. "I am training and there -is more training to come and then work. This is because of the masters."</p> - -<p>"It is good," Cadnan said. "It is important."</p> - -<p>Marvor shook his head, looking very much like a master himself. "What -is important?" he said.</p> - -<p>Cadnan thought for a minute. "Important is what a master needs for -life," he said at last. "The masters need a slave for life, because a -slave must push the buttons. Without this work the masters do not live."</p> - -<p>"Then why do the masters not push the buttons?" Marvor said.</p> - -<p>"It is good they do not," Cadnan said stubbornly. "A slave is a big -thing, and Cadnan is only a little thing. It is better to be big than -little."</p> - -<p>"It is better to be master than slave," Marvor said sullenly.</p> - -<p>"But we are not masters," Cadnan said, with the air of a person trying -to bring reason back to the discussion. "We do not look like masters, -and we do not know what they know."</p> - -<p>"You want to learn," Marvor said. "Then learn what they know."</p> - -<p>"They teach me," Cadnan said. "But I am still a slave, because they -teach me. I do not teach them."</p> - -<p>Marvor hissed and at the same time shook his head like a master. The -effect was not so much frightening as puzzling: he was a creature, -suddenly, who belonged to both worlds, and to neither. "A master is one -who does what he wants," he said. "If I do what I want, am I a master?"</p> - -<p>"That is silliness," Cadnan said. Marvor seemed about to reply, but -both were surprised instead by the opening of the door.</p> - -<p>A master stood in the lighted entrance, holding to the sides with both -hands.</p> - -<p>Anyone with a thorough knowledge of men could have told that he was -drunk. Any being with a sense of smell could have detected the odors of -that drunkenness. But the Alberts knew only that a master had come to -them during the time for eating and sleeping. They stirred, murmuring -restlessly.</p> - -<p>"It's all right," the master said, slurring his words only very -slightly. "I wanted to come and talk. I wanted to talk to one of you."</p> - -<p>Before anyone else could move, Cadnan was upright. "I will talk," he -said in a loud voice. The others stared at him, including Marvor. Even -Cadnan himself was a little surprised at his own speed and audacity.</p> - -<p>"Come on over," the master said from the doorway. "Come on over." He -made a beckoning motion.</p> - -<p>Cadnan picked his way across the room over wakeful Alberts.</p> - -<p>When he had reached the master, the master said: "Sit down." He looked -strange, Cadnan realized, though he could not tell exactly how.</p> - -<p>Cadnan sat and the master, closing the door, sat with his back against -it. There was a second of silence, which the master broke abruptly.</p> - -<p>"My name's Dodd," he said.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"I am called Cadnan," Cadnan said. He couldn't resist bringing out his -latest bit of knowledge for display. "I am a slave."</p> - -<p>"Sure," Dodd said dully. "I know. The rest of them say I shouldn't, but -I think about you a lot. About all of you."</p> - -<p>Cadnan, not knowing if this were good or bad, said nothing at all, but -waited. Dodd sighed, shook his head and closed his eyes. After a second -he went on.</p> - -<p>"They tell me, let the slaves have their own life," he said. "But -I don't see it that way. Do you see it that way? After all, you're -people, aren't you? Just like us."</p> - -<p>Cadnan tried to untangle the questions, and finally settled for a -simple answer. "We are slaves," he said. "You are masters."</p> - -<p>"Sure," Dodd said. "But I mean people. And you want the same things -we do. You want a little comfort out of life, a little security—some -food, say, and enough food for tomorrow. Right?"</p> - -<p>"It is good to have," Cadnan said. He was determined to keep his end of -the odd conversation up, even if it seemed to be leading nowhere.</p> - -<p>"It isn't as if we've been here forever," Dodd said. "Only—well, a -hundred or so of your years. Three generations, counting me. And here -we are lording it over you, just because of an accident. We happen to -be farther advanced than you, that's all."</p> - -<p>"You are masters," Cadnan said. "You know everything."</p> - -<p>"Not quite," Dodd said. "For instance, we don't know about you. You -have—well, you have got mates, haven't you? Hell, of course you do. -Male or female. Same as us. More or less."</p> - -<p>"We have mates, when we are ready for mates," Cadnan said.</p> - -<p>Dodd nodded precariously. "Uh-huh," he said. "Mates. They tell me I -need mates, but I tried it and I got into trouble. Mates aren't the -answer, kid. Cadnan. They simply aren't the answer."</p> - -<p>Cadnan thought, suddenly, of Dara. He had not spoken to her again, -but he was able to think of her. When the time of mating came, it was -possible that she would be his mate....</p> - -<p>But that was forbidden, he told himself. They came from the same tree -in the same time. The rule forbade such matings.</p> - -<p>"What we ought to do," Dodd said abruptly, "is we ought to do a -thorough anthropological—anthropological study on you people. A really -big job. But that's uneconomic, see? Because we know what we have to -know. Where to find you, what to feed you, how to get you to work. They -don't care about the rest."</p> - -<p>"The masters are good," Cadnan said stolidly into the silence. "They -let me work."</p> - -<p>"Sure," Dodd said, and shrugged, nearly losing his balance. He -recovered, and went on as if nothing at all had happened. "They let -you work for them," he said. "And what do you get out of it? Food and -shelter and security, I guess. But how would you like to work for -yourself instead?"</p> - -<p>Cadnan stared. "I do not understand," he said slowly.</p> - -<p>Dodd shook his head. "No," he said. "How would you like it if there -were no masters? Only people, just you and your people, living your own -lives and making your own decisions? How about that, kid?"</p> - -<p>"We would be alone," Cadnan said simply. "No master would feed us. We -would die."</p> - -<p>"No," Dodd said again. "What did you do before we came?"</p> - -<p>"It was different," Cadnan said. "It was not good. This is better." He -tried to imagine a world without masters, but the picture would not -come. Obviously, then, the world he lived in was better: it was better -than nothing.</p> - -<p>"Slaves," Dodd said to himself. "With a slave mentality." And then: -"Tell me, Cadnan, do they all think like you?"</p> - -<p>Cadnan didn't think of Marvor. By now he was so confused by this -strange conversation that his answer was automatic. "We do not talk -about it."</p> - -<p>Dodd looked at him mistily. "I'm disturbing you for nothing," he said. -"Nothing I can do but get killed trying to start up a slave revolt. -Which might be okay, but I don't know. If you get me—I don't know -about that, kid. Right?" He stood up, a little shakily, still leaning -against the door. "And frankly," he said, "I don't want to get killed -over a lot of alligators."</p> - -<p>"No one wishes to die," Cadnan said.</p> - -<p>"You'd be surprised," Dodd told him. He moved and opened the door. -For a second he stood in the entrance. "People can wish for almost -anything," he said. "You'd be surprised." The door banged shut and he -was gone.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Cadnan sat staring at the door for a second, his mind a tangle of ideas -and of new words for which he had no referents whatever. When he turned -away at last his eye fell on Dara, curled in a far corner. She was -looking at him but when he saw her he looked away. That disturbed him, -too: the rules were very clear on matings.</p> - -<p>Cadnan wanted to tell someone what he felt. He wanted information, -and he wanted someone to follow. But the masters were masters: he -could not be like them. And in the room where he slept there were no -elders. The thought of speaking with an elder, in any case, gave him no -satisfaction. He did not want an elder: he could not join the masters -and ask questions.</p> - -<p>Somewhere, he told himself, there would be someone....</p> - -<p>Somewhere....</p> - -<p>Of course, there was Marvor. Later in the night, while Cadnan still lay -awake trying to put thoughts and words together in his mind, Marvor -moved closer to him.</p> - -<p>"I want you with me," he said.</p> - -<p>But Marvor, Cadnan had decided, was bad. "I sleep here," Cadnan said, a -trifle severely. "I do not move my place."</p> - -<p>In the dimness Marvor shook his head <i>no</i>, like a master. "I want you -with me in the plan I have," he said. "I want you to help me."</p> - -<p>That was different. The rules of the elders covered such a request. -"Does a brother refuse help to a brother?" Cadnan asked. "We are from -the same tree and the same time. Tell me what I must do."</p> - -<p>Marvor opened his mouth wide, wider, until Cadnan saw the flash of his -many teeth, and a second passed in silence. Then Marvor snapped his -jaws shut, hissing, and spoke. "The masters tell us what to do. They -make our life for us."</p> - -<p>"This is true," Cadnan muttered.</p> - -<p>"It is evil," Marvor said. "It is bad. We must make our own lives. -Every thing makes its own life."</p> - -<p>"We are slaves," Cadnan said. "This is our life. It is our place."</p> - -<p>Marvor sat up suddenly. Around them the others muttered and stirred. -"Does the plant grow when a master tells it?" he asked. "Does the tree -bud when a master tells it? So we must also grow in our own way."</p> - -<p>"We are not plants or trees," Cadnan said.</p> - -<p>"We are alive," Marvor said in a fierce, sudden whisper. "The masters, -too, are alive. We are the same as they. Why do they tell us what to -do?"</p> - -<p>Cadnan was very patient. "Because they know, and we do not," he said. -"Because they tell us, that is all. It is the way things are."</p> - -<p>"I will change the way things are," Marvor said. He spoke now more -softly still. "Do you want to be a master?"</p> - -<p>"I am no master," Cadnan said wearily. "I am a slave."</p> - -<p>"That is a bad thing." Cadnan tried to speak, but Marvor went on -without stopping. "Dara is with me," he said, "and some of the others. -There are not many. Most of the brothers and sisters are cowards."</p> - -<p>Then he had to define "coward" for Cadnan—and from "coward" he -progressed to another new word, "freedom." That was a big word but -Cadnan approached it without fear, and without any preconception.</p> - -<p>"It is not good to be free," he said at last, in a reasonable, weary -tone. "In the cold there is a bad thing. In the rain there is a bad -thing. To be free is to go to these bad things."</p> - -<p>"To be free is to do what you want," Marvor said. "To be free is to be -your own master."</p> - -<p>After some thought Cadnan asked: "Who can be his own master? It is like -being your own mate."</p> - -<p>Marvor seemed to lose patience all at once. "Very well," he said. "But -you will not tell the masters what I say?"</p> - -<p>"Does a brother harm a brother?" Cadnan asked. That, too, was in the -rules: even Marvor, he thought sleepily, had to accept the rules.</p> - -<p>"It is good," Marvor said equably. "Soon, very soon, I will make you -free."</p> - -<p>"I do not want to be free."</p> - -<p>"You will want it," Marvor said. "I tell you something you do not know. -Far away from here there are free ones. Ones without masters. I hear -of them in the Birth Huts: they are elders who bring up their own in -hiding from the masters. They want to be free."</p> - -<p>Cadnan felt a surge of hope. Marvor might leave, take away the -disturbance he always carried with him. "You will go and join them?"</p> - -<p>"No," Marvor said. "I will go to them and bring them back and kill all -the masters. I will make the masters dead."</p> - -<p>"You cannot do it," Cadnan said instantly, shocked.</p> - -<p>"I can," Marvor said without raising his voice. "Wait and you will see. -Soon we will be free. Very soon now."</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="c8" id="c8">8</a></h2> - - -<p>This is the end.</p> - -<p>Dodd woke with the words in his mind, flashing on and off like a -lighted sign. Back in the Confederation (he had seen pictures) there -were moving stair-belts, and at the exits, at turnoffs, there were -flashing signs. The words in his mind were like that: if he ignored -them he would be carried on past his destination, into darkness and -strangeness.</p> - -<p>But his destination was strange, too. His head pounded, his tongue was -thick and cottony in a dry mouth: drinking had provided nothing of an -escape and the price he had to pay was much too high.</p> - -<p><i>This is the end.</i></p> - -<p>There was no escape, he told himself dimly! The party had resulted -only in that sudden appearance, the grim-mouthed old woman. Drinking -had resulted in no more than this new sickness, and a cloudy memory of -having talked to an Albert, some Albert, somewhere.... He opened his -eyes, felt pain and closed them again. There was no escape: the party -Albin had taken him to had led to trouble, his own drunkenness had led -to trouble. He saw the days stretching out ahead of him and making -years.</p> - -<p>It was nearly time now to begin work. To begin the job of training, -with the Alberts, the job he was going to do through all those days and -years lying ahead.</p> - -<p><i>This is the end.</i></p> - -<p>He found himself rising, dressing, shaving off the stubble of beard. -His head hurt, his eyes ached, his mouth was hardly improved by a -gargle, but all that was far away, as distant as his own body and his -own motions.</p> - -<p>His head turned and looked at the clock set into his wall. The eyes -noted a position of the hands and passed the information to the brain: -8:47. The brain decided that it was time to go on to work. The body -moved itself in accustomed patterns, opening the door, passing through -the opening, shutting the door again, walking down the hallway.</p> - -<p>All that was very distant. Dodd, himself, was—somewhere else.</p> - -<p>He met his partner standing before a group of the Alberts. Dodd's eyes -noted the expression on his partner's face. The brain registered the -information, interpreted it and predicted. Dodd knew he would hear, and -did hear, sounds: "What's wrong with <i>you</i> this morning?"</p> - -<p>The correct response was on file. "Drinking a little too much last -night, I guess." It was all automatic: everything was automatic. The -Alberts went into their elevator, and Dodd and his partner followed. -Dodd's body did not stumble. But Dodd was somewhere else.</p> - -<p>The elevator stopped, the Alberts went off to their sections, Dodd's -partner went to his first assignment, Dodd found his body walking away -down the hall, opening a door, going through the opening, shutting the -door. The Albert inside looked up.</p> - -<p>"Today we are going to do the work together." Dodd heard his own -voice: it was all perfectly automatic, there were no mistakes. "Do you -understand?"</p> - -<p>"Understand," the Albert said.</p> - -<p><i>This is the end.</i></p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>At the end of the day he was back from wherever he had been, from the -darkness that had wrapped his mind like cotton and removed him. There -was no surprise now. There was no emotion at all: his work was over and -he could be himself again. In the back of his mind the single phrase -still flashed, but he had long since stopped paying attention to that.</p> - -<p>He finished supper and went into the Commons Room, walking aimlessly.</p> - -<p>She was sitting in a chair, with her back to the great window. As Dodd -came in she looked up at him. "Hello, there."</p> - -<p>Dodd waved a hand and, going over, found a chair and brought it to -hers. "I'm sorry about the other night—"</p> - -<p>"Think nothing of it," the girl said. "Anyhow, we're not in any -trouble, and we would have been by now, if you see what I mean."</p> - -<p>"I'm glad." He was no more than polite. There was no more in him, no -emotion at all. He had reached a blank wall: there was no escape for -him or for the Alberts. He could see nothing but pain ahead.</p> - -<p>And so he had turned off the pain, and, with it, everything else.</p> - -<p>"Do you come here often?" the girl was saying. He had been introduced -to her once, but he couldn't remember her name. It was there, filed -away....</p> - -<p>"Greta Forzane," he said involuntarily.</p> - -<p>She smiled at him, leaning a little forward. "That's right," she said. -"And you're Johnny Dodd. And do you come here often?"</p> - -<p>"... Sometimes." He waited. Soon she would stop, and he could leave, -and....</p> - -<p>And?</p> - -<p>"Anyhow, it was just as much my fault as yours," Greta was saying. "And -there's no reason why we can't be friends. All right?"</p> - -<p>"Of course."</p> - -<p>There was a brief silence, but he hardly noticed that.</p> - -<p>"I'm sorry if I'm bothering you," she said.</p> - -<p>"Not at all." His eyes were looking at her, but that made no -difference. There was nothing left, nothing.</p> - -<p>He could feel himself tighten, as if he were truly waiting for -something. But there was nothing to wait for.</p> - -<p>Was there?</p> - -<p>"Is there something wrong?"</p> - -<p>"Nothing. I'm fine."</p> - -<p>"You look—"</p> - -<p>She never finished the sentence. The storm broke instead.</p> - -<p>Dodd found himself weeping, twisting himself in the chair; reaching -out with his hands, violently racked in spasms of grief: it seemed as -if the room shook and he grasped nothing until she put her hands on -his shoulders. His eyes were blind with water, his body in a continual -series of spasms. He heard his own voice, making sounds that had never -been words, crying for—for what? Help, peace, understanding?</p> - -<p>Somewhere his mind continued to think, but the thoughts were powerless -and very small. He felt the girl's hands on his shoulders, trying to -hold him, and masked by the sounds of his own weeping he heard her -voice, too:</p> - -<p>"It's all right ... calm down now ... you'll be all right...."</p> - -<p>"... I ... can't...." He managed to get two words out before the -whirlpool sucked him down again, the reasonless, causeless whirlpool of -grief and terror, his body shaking, his mouth wide open and calling in -broken sounds, the tears as hot as metal marking his face as his eyes -squeezed shut.</p> - -<p>"It's all right," the voice went on saying. "It's all right."</p> - -<p>At last he was possessed by the idea that someone else might come -and see them. He drew in a breath and choked on it, and the weeping -began again, but after a time he was able to take one breath and then -another. He was able to stop. He reached into his pocket and found a -handkerchief, wiped his eyes and looked into her face.</p> - -<p>Nothing was there but shock, and a great caution. "What happened?" she -asked. "Are you all right?"</p> - -<p>He took a long time answering, and the answer, because it was true, -surprised him. He was capable of surprise, he was capable of truth. "I -don't know," he said.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<p class="ph3">PART TWO</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="c9" id="c9">9</a></h2> - - -<p>"You will not tell me how to run my own division." The words were -spaced, like steel rivets, evenly into the air. Dr. Haenlingen looked -around the meeting-room, her face not even defiant but simply assured.</p> - -<p>Willis, of Labor, was the first to recover. "It's not that we'd like to -interfere—" he began.</p> - -<p>She didn't let him finish. "That's a lie." Her voice was not excited. -It carried the length of the room, and left no echoes.</p> - -<p>"Now, Dr. Haenlingen—" Rogier, Metals chairman and head of the -meeting, began.</p> - -<p>"Don't soft-soap me," the old woman snapped. "I'm too old for it and -I'm too tough for it. I want to look at some facts, and I want you to -look at them, too." She paused, and nobody said a word. "I want to -start with a simple statement. We're in trouble."</p> - -<p>"That's exactly the point," Willis began in his thin, high voice. "It's -because we all appreciate that fact—"</p> - -<p>"That you want to tamper," the old woman said. "Precisely." The -others were seated around the long gleaming table of native wood. Dr. -Haenlingen stood, her back rigid, at one end, facing them all with a -cold and knowing eye. "But I won't allow tampering in my department. I -can't allow it."</p> - -<p>Rogier took a deep breath. The words came like marshmallow out of -his overstuffed body. "I would hardly call a request for information -'tampering'," he said.</p> - -<p>"I would," Dr. Haenlingen told him tartly. "I've had a very good -reason, over the years, to keep information about my section in my own -hands."</p> - -<p>Rogier's voice became stern. "And that is?"</p> - -<p>"That is," Dr. Haenlingen said, "fools like you." Rogier opened -his mouth, but the old woman gave him no chance. "People who think -psychology is a game, or at any rate a study that applies only to -other people, never to them. People who want to subject others to the -disciplines of psychology, but not themselves."</p> - -<p>"As I understand it—" Rogier began.</p> - -<p>"You do not understand it," the old woman said flatly. "I understand -it because I have spent my life learning to do so. You have spent your -life learning to understand metals, and committees. Doubtless, Dr. -Rogier, you understand metals—and committees."</p> - -<p>Her glance swept once more round the table, and she sat down. There was -a second of silence before Dward, of Research, spoke up. Behind glassy -contact lenses his eyes were, as always, unreadable. "Perhaps Dr. -Haenlingen has a point," he said. "I know I'd hate to have to lay out -my work for the meeting before I had it prepared. I'm sure we can allow -a reasonable time for preparation—"</p> - -<p>"I'm afraid we can't," Rogier put in, almost apologetically.</p> - -<p>"Of course we can't," the old woman added. "First of all, I wasn't -asking for time for preparation. I was asking for non-interference. -And, second, we don't have any time at all."</p> - -<p>"Surely matters aren't that serious," Willis put in.</p> - -<p>"Matters," the old woman said, "are a good deal more serious than that. -Has anyone but me read the latest reports from the Confederation?"</p> - -<p>"I think we all have," Rogier said calmly.</p> - -<p>"Well, then," the old woman asked, "has anyone except myself understood -them?" The head turned, the eyes raked the table. "Dr. Willis hasn't, -or he wouldn't be sounding so hopeful. The rest of you haven't, or you -wouldn't be talking about time. Rogier, you haven't, or you'd quit -trying to pry and begin trying to prepare."</p> - -<p>"Preparations have begun," Rogier said. "It's just for that reason that -I want to get some idea of what your division—"</p> - -<p>"Preparations," she said. The word was like a curse. "There's been a -leak, and a bad leak. We may never know where it started. A ship's -officer, taking metals back, a stowaway, anything. That doesn't matter: -anyone with any sense knew there had to be a leak sooner or later."</p> - -<p>"We've taken every possible precaution," Willis said.</p> - -<p>"Exactly," Dr. Haenlingen told him. "And the leak happened. I take it -there's no argument about that—given the figures and reports we now -have?"</p> - -<p>There was silence.</p> - -<p>"Very well," she went on. "The Confederation is acting just as it has -always been obvious they would act: with idealism, stupidity and a -gross lack of what is called common sense." She paused for comment: -there was none. "Disregarding the fact that they need our shipments, -and need them badly, they have begun to turn against us. Against what -they are pleased to call slavery."</p> - -<p>"Well?" Rogier asked. "It is slavery, isn't it?"</p> - -<p>"What difference do labels make?" she asked. "In any case, they have -turned against us. Public opinion is swinging heavily around, and there -isn't much chance of pushing it back the other way. The man in the -street is used to freedom. He likes it. He thinks the Alberts ought to -be free, too."</p> - -<p>"But if they are," Willis said, "the man in the street is going to lose -a lot of other things—things dependent on our shipments."</p> - -<p>"I said they were illogical," Dr. Haenlingen told him patiently. -"Idealism almost always is. Logic has nothing to do with this—as -anyone but a fool might know." She got up again, and began to walk -back and forth along the end of the table. "There are still people who -are convinced, God knows why, that minds work on logic. Minds do not -work on anything resembling logic. The laws on which they do work are -only now beginning to be understood and codified: but logic was thrown -out the window in the days of Freud. That, gentlemen, was a long time -ago. The man in the Confederation street is going to lose a lot if -he insists on freeing the Alberts. He hasn't thought of that yet, and -he won't think of it until after it happens." She paused, at one end -of her walk, and put her hands on her hips. "That man is suffering -from a disease, if putting it that way makes it easier for you to see. -The disease is called idealism. Its main symptom is a disregard for -consequences in favor of principles."</p> - -<p>"But surely—" Willis began.</p> - -<p>"Dr. Willis, you are outdoing yourself," the old woman cut in. "You -sound as if you are hopeful about idealism resting somewhere even in -us. And perhaps it does, perhaps it does. It is a persistent virus. But -I hope we can control its more massive outbreaks, gentlemen, and not -attempt to convince ourselves that this disease is actually a state of -health." She began to pace again. "Idealism is a disease," she said. -"In epidemic proportions, it becomes incurable."</p> - -<p>"Then there is nothing to be done?" Dward asked.</p> - -<p>"Dr. Rogier has his preparations," the old woman said. "I'm sure they -are as efficient as they can be. They are useless, but he knows that as -well as I do."</p> - -<p>"Now wait a—" Rogier began.</p> - -<p>"Against ships of the Confederation, armed with God alone knows what -after better than one hundred years of progress? Don't be silly, Dr. -Rogier. Our preparations are better than nothing, perhaps, but not much -better. They can't be."</p> - -<p>Having reached her chair again, she sat down in it. The meeting was -silent for better than a minute. Dr. Rogier was the first to speak. -"But, don't you see," he said, "that's just why we need to know what's -going on in your division. Perhaps a weapon might be forged from the -armory of psychology which—"</p> - -<p>"Before that metaphor becomes any more mixed," Dr. Haenlingen said, "I -want to clear one thing up. I am not going to divulge any basic facts -about my division, now or ever."</p> - -<p>"But—"</p> - -<p>"I want you to listen to me carefully," she said. "The tools of -psychology are both subtle and simple. Anyone can use a few of them. -And anyone, in possession of only those few, will be tempted to put -them to use. That use is dangerous, more dangerous than a ticking bomb. -I will not run the risk of such danger."</p> - -<p>"Surely we are all responsible men—" Rogier began.</p> - -<p>"Given enough temptation," Dr. Haenlingen said, "there is no such thing -as a responsible man. If there were, none of us would be here, on -Fruyling's World. None of us would be masters, and none of the Alberts -slaves."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"I'll give you an example," she said after a little time. "The Psych -division has parties, parties which are rather well-known among other -divisions. The parties involve drinking and promiscuous sex, they get -rather wild, but there is no great harm done by these activities. -Indeed, they provide a useful, perhaps a necessary release." She -paused. "Therefore I have forbidden them."</p> - -<p>Willis said: "What?" The others waited.</p> - -<p>"I have forbidden them," she said, "but I have not stopped them. Nor -will I. The fact that they are forbidden adds a certain—spice to -the parties themselves. My 'discovery' of one of them does shake the -participants up a trifle, but this is a minor damage: more important, -it keeps alive the idea of 'forbidden fruit'. The parties are extremely -popular. They are extremely useful. Were I to permit them, they would -soon be neither popular nor useful."</p> - -<p>"I'm afraid I don't quite see that," Dward put in.</p> - -<p>Dr. Haenlingen nodded. For the first time, she put her arms on the -table and leaned a little forward. "Many of the workers here," she -said, "are infected by the disease of idealism. The notion of slavery -bothers them. They need to rebel against the establishment in order to -make that protest real to them, and in order to release hostility which -might otherwise destroy us from the inside. In my own division this has -been solved simply by creating a situation in which the workers fear -me—fear being a compound of love, or awe, and hatred. This, however, -will not do on a scale larger than one division: a dictatorship complex -is set up, against which rebellion may still take place. Therefore, the -parties. They serve as a harmless release for rebellious spirits. The -parties are forbidden. Those who attend them are flouting authority. -Their tension fades. They become good workers, for us, instead of -idealistic souls, against us."</p> - -<p>"Interesting," Rogier said. "May we take it that this is a sample of -the work you have been doing?"</p> - -<p>"You may," the old woman said flatly.</p> - -<p>"And—about the current crisis—your suggestions—"</p> - -<p>"My suggestion, gentlemen, is simple," Dr. Haenlingen said. "I can -see nothing except an Act of God which is going to stop the current -Confederation movement against us. The leak has occurred: we are done -for if it affects governmental policy. My suggestion, gentlemen, is -just this: pray."</p> - -<p>Unbelievingly, Willis echoed: "Pray?"</p> - -<p>"To whatever God you believe in, gentlemen," Dr. Haenlingen said. "To -whatever God permits you to remain masters on a slave world. Pray to -him—because nothing less than a God is going to stop the Confederation -from attacking this planet."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p class="ph3">PUBLIC OPINION TWO</p> - -<p>Being an excerpt from a conversation between Mrs. Fellacia Gordon, -(Citizen, white female, age thirty-eight, occupation housewife, -residence 701-45 West 305 Street, New York, U. S. A., Earth) and Mrs. -Gwen Brandon (Citizen, oriental female, age thirty-six, occupation -housewife, residence 701-21 West 313 Street, New York, U. S. A., -Earth) on a Minimart bench midway between the two homes, in the year -of the Confederation two hundred and ten, on May sixteenth, afternoon.</p></div> - -<div class="blockquot2"> -<p>MRS. GORDON: They've all been talking about it, how those poor things -have to work and work until they drop, and they don't even get paid for -it or anything.</p> - -<p>MRS. BRANDON: What do you mean, don't get paid? Of course they get -paid. You have to get paid when you work, don't you?</p> - -<p>MRS. GORDON: Not those poor things. They're slaves.</p> - -<p>MRS. BRANDON: Slaves? Like in the olden times?</p> - -<p>MRS. G.: That's what they say. Everybody's talking about it.</p> - -<p>MRS. B.: Well. Why don't they do something about it, then, the ones -that are like that? I mean, there's always something you can do.</p> - -<p>MRS. G.: They're just being forced to work until they absolutely drop, -is what I hear. And all for a bunch of people who just lord it over -them with guns and everything. You see, these beings—they're green, -not like us, but they have feelings, too—</p> - -<p>MRS. B.: Of course they do, Fellacia.</p> - -<p>MRS. G.: Well. They don't have much education, hardly know anything. So -when people with guns come in, you see, there just isn't anything they -can do about it.</p> - -<p>MRS. B.: Why are they let, then?</p> - -<p>MRS. G.: Who, the people with guns? Well, nobody lets them, not just -like that. It's just like we only found out about it now.</p> - -<p>MRS. B.: I didn't hear a word on the news.</p> - -<p>MRS. G.: You listen tonight and you'll hear a word, Gwen dear.</p> - -<p>MRS. B.: Oh, my. That sounds like there's something up. Now, what have -you been doing?</p> - -<p>MRS. G.: Don't you think it's right, for these poor beings? I mean, no -pay and nothing at all but work, work, work until they absolutely drop?</p> - -<p>MRS. B.: What have you been doing? I mean, what can any one person do? -Of course it's terrible and all that, but—</p> - -<p>MRS. G.: We talked it over. I mean the group I belong to, you know. On -Wednesday. Because all of us had heard something about it, you see, and -so we brought it up and discussed it. And it's absolutely true.</p> - -<p>MRS. B.: How can you be sure of a thing like that?</p> - -<p>MRS. G.: We found out—</p> - -<p>MRS. B.: When it isn't even on the news or anything.</p> - -<p>MRS. G.: We found out that people have been talking from other places, -too. Downtown and even in the suburbs.</p> - -<p>MRS. B.: Oh. Then it must be—but what can you do, after all? It's not -as if we were in the government or anything.</p> - -<p>MRS. G.: Don't you worry about that. There's something you can do and -it's not hard, either. And it has an effect. A definite effect, they -say.</p> - -<p>MRS. B.: You mean collecting money? To send them?</p> - -<p>MRS. G.: Money won't do them any good. No. What we need is the -government, to do something about this.</p> - -<p>MRS. B.: It's easy to talk.</p> - -<p>MRS. G.: And we can get the government to do something, too. If there -are enough of us—and there will be.</p> - -<p>MRS. B.: I should think anybody who hears about these people, Fellacia—</p> - -<p>MRS. G.: Well, they're not people, exactly.</p> - -<p>MRS. B.: What difference does that make? They need help, don't they? -And we can give them help. If you really have an idea?</p> - -<p>MRS. G.: We discussed it all. And we've been writing letters.</p> - -<p>MRS. B.: Letters? Just letters?</p> - -<p>MRS. G.: If a Senator gets enough letters, he has to do something, -doesn't he? Because the letters are from the people who vote for him, -you see?</p> - -<p>MRS. B.: But that means a lot of letters.</p> - -<p>MRS. G.: We've had everybody sending postcards. Fifteen or twenty each. -That mounts up awfully fast, Gwen dear.</p> - -<p>MRS. B.: But just postcards—</p> - -<p>MRS. G.: And telephone calls, where that's possible. And visits. And -starting even more talk everywhere. Just everywhere.</p> - -<p>MRS. B.: Do you really think it's going to work? I mean, it seems like -so little.</p> - -<p>MRS. G.: It's going to work. It's got to.</p> - -<p>MRS. B.: What are they working at? I mean the—the slaves.</p> - -<p>MRS. G.: They're being forced, Gwen dear. Absolutely forced to work.</p> - -<p>MRS. B.: Yes, dear, but what at? What do they do?</p> - -<p>MRS. G.: I don't see where that makes any difference. Actually, nobody -has been very clear on the details. But the details don't matter, do -they, Gwen dear? The important thing is, we have to do something.</p> - -<p>MRS. B.: You're right, Fellacia. And I'll—</p> - -<p>MRS. G.: Of course I'm right.</p> - -<p>MRS. B.: I'll start right in with the postcards. A lot of them.</p> - -<p>MRS. G.: And don't forget to tell other people. As many as you can -manage. We need all the help we can get—and so do the slaves.</p></div> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="c10" id="c10">10</a></h2> - - -<p>The days passed and the training went on, boring and repetitious as -each man tried to hammer into the obdurate head of an Albert just -enough about his own particular section of machinery so that he could -run it capably and call for help in case of emergencies. And, though -every man on Fruyling's World disliked every moment of the job, the -job was necessary, and went on: though they, too, were slaves to a -great master, none thought of rebelling. For the name of the master was -necessity, and economic law, and from that rule there are no rebels. -The days passed evenly and the work went slowly on.</p> - -<p>And then the training was finished. The new Alberts went on a daily -work-schedule, supervised only by the spy-sets and an occasional, -deliberately random visit from a master. The visits were necessary, -too: the Alberts had not the sophistication to react to a spy-set, -and personal supervision was needed to convince them they were still -being watched, they still had to work. A master came, a master saw them -working: that, they could understand.</p> - -<p>That—and the punishments. These went under the name of discipline, and -had three grades. The Belbis beams administered all three, by means of -a slight readjustment in the ray. It was angled as widely as possible, -and the dispersed beam, carefully controlled, acted directly on the -nervous system.</p> - -<p>Cadnan, troubled by Marvor's threats and by his own continuing -thoughts of Dara, was a trifle absent-minded and a little slower than -standard. He drew punishment twice, both times in the first grade only. -Albin administered both punishments, explaining to his partner Derbis -that he didn't mind doing it—and, besides, someone had to.</p> - -<p>Sometimes Dodd thought of Albin giving out discipline, and of all of -his life on Fruyling's World, in terms of a sign he had once seen. It -had been a joke, he remembered that clearly, but it was no more a joke -now than the words which flashed nearly ignored at the back of his -mind. Once or twice he had imagined this new sign hanging luridly over -the entire planet, posted there in the name of profit, in the name of -necessity, in the name of economic law.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p><span class="smcap">Everything not compulsory is forbidden</span></p></div> - -<p>The Alberts had to be trained. The Alberts had to be disciplined. The -men had to work with them. The men were forbidden to leave the planet.</p> - -<p>And who were the slaves?</p> - -<p>That, Dodd told himself cloudily, was far from an easy decision.</p> - -<p>Everything not compulsory was forbidden. Even the parties were -forbidden ... though it was always possible to find one. Dodd had -avoided them completely, afraid now of another breakdown, this time in -public. He had not seen Greta or called her (though he had her number -now): he had stayed alone as much as possible.</p> - -<p>He had no idea what had happened to him: and that added to his fright -and to his fear of a recurrence.</p> - -<p>But Albin, he knew, was having his fun, and so were others. The older -men, it seemed, devoted themselves to running the place, to raising -their families and giving good advice, to keeping production up and -costs down.</p> - -<p>The younger men had fun.</p> - -<p>Dodd had thought of marriage. (Now, it was no more than a memory, -a hope he might once have had. Now, the end had come: there was no -marriage. There was no life. Only the idea of hope remained.) He had -never had the vestige of a real female image in his mind. Sometimes he -had told himself to be more out-going, to meet more women—but, then, -how did a man meet women?</p> - -<p>He had fun.</p> - -<p>And Dodd had never enjoyed that particular brand of fun—Albin's brand.</p> - -<p>There was a Social, an acceptable party that would get him into no -trouble, in Building One. Dodd felt like lying down and letting the day -drain out of him into the comforting mattress there in his room. He -felt like relaxing in his own company—and that, he saw suddenly, was -going to mean drinking.</p> - -<p>He could see the future unroll before him. He could see the first -drink, and the tenth. Because drink was an escape, and he needed some -escape from the world he was pledged to uphold, the world of slavery.</p> - -<p>He could not afford to drink again.</p> - -<p>So, naturally, he was getting ready to go to the Social. Albin would -be there, undoubtedly, some of the older men would be there—and -a scattering of women would be there, too. (He remembered himself -thinking, long ago before such a party: Tonight might be the night.) He -shaved very carefully, faithful to memory, dressed in the best he could -find in his closet, and went out, heading for the elevator.</p> - -<p>Tonight might be the night—but it made no difference, not any longer.</p> - -<p>The trip to Sub-basement took a few whooshing seconds. He stepped out -into a lighted, oil-smelling underground corridor, took a deep breath -and headed off through gleaming passages toward another elevator at -the far end. Before he reached it he took a turning, and then another: -after a magnificently confusing trip through an unmarked labyrinth, he -found the elevator that led him up into the right section of Building -One. That was no special feat, of course: people had been doing the -like ever since the first housing-project days, on pre-Confederation -Earth. Dodd never gave it a second thought: his mind was busy.</p> - -<p>The phrase had floated to the forefront of his brain again, right -behind his eyes, lighting up with a regularity that was almost -soothing, almost reassuring.</p> - -<p><i>This is the end.</i></p> - -<p><i>This is the end.</i></p> - -<p><i>This is the end.</i></p> - -<p>When the elevator door slid open he was grim-faced, withdrawn, and he -stepped out like a threat into a cheerful, brightly dressed crowd of -people.</p> - -<p>"Here he is!" someone shouted. "I told you he'd be here ... I told -you...." Dodd turned but the words weren't meant for him. Down the -corridor a knot of men and women was surrounding a new arrival from -somewhere else, laughing and talking. As he stepped forward, his eyes -still on that celebration, a pathway opened up for him; he was in sober -black and he went through the corridor like a pencil-mark down paper, -leaving an open trail as he passed.</p> - -<p>A girl stopped him before he reached the door of the party room. She -stepped directly into his path and he saw her, and his expression began -to change, a little at a time, so that his eyes were, for long seconds, -happier than his face, and he looked like a young bull-terrier having a -birthday party.</p> - -<p>"Am I in your way?" the girl said, without budging an inch. She was -dressed in a bright green material that seemed to fade so near the -glowing happiness of her face. Her hair was brown, a quite ordinary -brown, and even in that first second Dodd noticed her hands. They were -long and slim, the thumbs pointed outward, and they were clasped at her -breast in a pose that should have been mocking, but was only pleasant.</p> - -<p>He couldn't think of anything to say. Finally he settled on: "My name's -Dodd," as the simplest and quickest way of breaking the ice that -surrounded him.</p> - -<p>"Very well, then, Mr. Dodd," the girl said—she <i>wouldn't</i> go along -with polite forms—"am I in your way? Because if I am, I'm terribly -sorry."</p> - -<p>"You're not in my way at all," Dodd said heavily. "I just—didn't -notice you." And that was a lie, but there was nothing else to say. The -thousands of words that arranged themselves so neatly into patterns -when he was alone had sunk to the very bottom of his suddenly leaden -mind, almost burying the flashing sign. He felt as if he were growing -extra fingers and ears.</p> - -<p>"I noticed you," the girl said. "And I said to myself, I said: 'What -can a person as grim as all that be doing at a Social as gay as all -this?' So I stopped you to see if I could find out."</p> - -<p>Dodd licked his lips. "I don't know," he said. "I thought maybe I'd -meet somebody. I just thought I'd like to come."</p> - -<p>"Well," the girl said, "you've met somebody. And now what?"</p> - -<p>Dodd found some words, not many but enough. "I haven't met you yet," he -said in what he hoped was a bright tone. "What's your name?"</p> - -<p>The girl smiled, and Dodd saw for the first time that she hadn't been -smiling before. Her face, in repose, was light enough and to spare; -when she smiled, he wanted smoked glasses. "Very well," she said. "My -name is Fredericks. Norma Fredericks. And yours is—"</p> - -<p>"Dodd," he said. "John Dodd. They call me Johnny."</p> - -<p>"All right, John," she said. "You haven't been to many Socials, have -you? Because I'd have seen you—I'm at every one I can find time for. -You'd be surprised how many that is. Or maybe you wouldn't."</p> - -<p>There was no answer to the last half of that, so Dodd backtracked, -feeling a shocking relief that she hadn't been to the party at which -he and the other girl (whose name he could very suddenly no longer -remember) had made fools of themselves. He gave her an answer to the -first half of her question. "I haven't been to many Socials, no," he -said. "I—" He shrugged and felt mountainous next to her. "I stay by -myself, mostly," he said.</p> - -<p>"And now you want to meet people," Norma said. "All right, Johnny -Dodd—you're going to meet people!" She took him by the arm and -half-led, half-dragged him to the door of the party room. Inside, the -noise was like a blast of heat, and Dodd stepped involuntarily back. -"Now, that's no way to be," Norma said cheerfully, and piloted him -somehow inside, past a screaming crew of men and women with disposable -glasses in their hands, past an oblivious couple, two couples, four, -seven—past mountains and masses of color and noise and drink and -singing horribly off-key, not bothersome at all, loud and raucous -and somehow, Dodd thought wildly, entirely fitting. This was Norma's -element, he told himself, and allowed her to escort him to a far corner -of the room, where she sat him down in a chair, said: "Don't go away, -don't move," and disappeared.</p> - -<p>Dodd sat stock-still while the noise washed over him. People drifted by -but nobody so much as looked in his direction, and he saw neither Albin -nor that other forgettable girl, for all of which he was profoundly -grateful. He hadn't been to a Social since his last mistake, and -before that it had been—almost two years, he realized with wonder. -He'd forgotten just how much of everything it could be. He devoted a -couple of minutes to catching his breath, and then he just watched -people, drifting, standing, forming new combinations every second. He -thought (once) he saw Albin in the middle of a crowd near the door, -but he told himself he was probably mistaken. There was no one else he -recognized. He didn't grow tired, but sitting and watching, he found, -was exhilarating enough.</p> - -<p>In another minute, he was sure Norma wasn't going to come back. -Probably she had found someone else, he told himself in what he thought -was a reasonable manner. After all, he wasn't a very exciting person: -she had probably started off to get him a drink or something, with the -best of intentions, and met someone more interesting on the way.</p> - -<p>He had just decided that, after all, he couldn't really <i>blame</i> her, -when she appeared at his side.</p> - -<p>"The punch," she announced, "is authentic. It is totally authentic. One -glass and you forget everything. Two, and you remember. Three—I don't -know what happens with the third glass yet. But I'm going to find out."</p> - -<p>He looked at her hands. She was holding two disposable glasses, full -of purple liquid. He took one from her and got up. "Well," he said, -"cheers."</p> - -<p>"Also down the hatch," she said. "And any other last year's slang you -happen to have around and want to get rid of." She lifted the glass. -"Here's to you, John Dodd," she said, and tipped the glass at her -lips—just that. He had never before seen anyone drink in just that -way, or drink so quickly. In seconds, before he had taken a sip (he -was so amazed, watching her), the glass was empty. "Whoosh," she said -clearly. "That ought to hold me for at least six minutes."</p> - -<p>Then she noticed that he hadn't started his own drink yet, so he took a -cautious sip. It tasted like grape juice, like wine, like—he couldn't -identify the ingredients, and besides he was watching her face. He took -another sip.</p> - -<p>"That's the way," Norma approved. "Soon you'll be drinking with the big -boys."</p> - -<p>And whether she was making fun of him or not hardly mattered. He felt -careless: maybe the drink had done it. "Why did you pick me?" he heard -himself say. "Why did you stop me, out of all those people?"</p> - -<p>She hesitated, and when she spoke it sounded like the truth, perhaps -too much like the truth to be true. "You looked like a puppy," she said -seriously. "Like a puppy trying to act fierce. Maybe I've always had a -weakness for dumb animals: no offense meant, John Dodd."</p> - -<p>The idea of being offended hadn't occurred to him, but he tried it out -experimentally and discovered he didn't like it. Before he could say -anything, though, Norma had become energetic again.</p> - -<p>"Enough analysis," she said abruptly, so strongly that he wasn't sure -what she meant by the words. "Sit down—sit down." He felt for the -chair behind him and sat. Norma cast a keen eye over the nearby crowds, -spotted an empty chair and went off for it. "Later," she told him, when -she had placed herself next to him, "we can join the crowd. For now, -let's get—let's get better acquainted. Johnny."</p> - -<p>"That's the first time you've called me Johnny," he said.</p> - -<p>"So it is," she said. Her face was a mask: and then it lightened. "What -do you work at, Johnny?"</p> - -<p>"I'm in Building Three," he said: it was easier to answer her than -anatomize the confusions he felt. "I work with smelting and quality -control—you know." He took another sip of his drink, and found to his -surprise that it was more than half gone.</p> - -<p>"With the Alberts," she said. "I know."</p> - -<p>He thought he read her look correctly. "I don't like it either," he -told her earnestly. "But somebody has to do it. I think—"</p> - -<p>"You don't have to get defensive," Norma said. "Relax. Enjoy yourself. -Join the party. Did I look at you as if you were a murderer of small -children?"</p> - -<p>"I just—don't like it," he said carefully. "I—well, there isn't -anything I can do about it, is there?"</p> - -<p>"I wouldn't know," she said, and then (had she made a decision? He -couldn't tell) she went on: "I'm in Psych, myself."</p> - -<p>"Psych? You?"</p> - -<p>"Psych, me," she said. "So I'm every bit as responsible as you are. And -maybe the reason there's nothing to do is—is because it's already been -done."</p> - -<p>"Already been done?" Dodd swallowed the rest of his drink in one gulp -and leaned toward her. Norma looked down at her own empty glass.</p> - -<p>"There are rumors," she said. "Frankly, I'd rather they didn't get -around. And if I hadn't had too much to drink—or something—I wouldn't -even be mentioning them. I'm sorry."</p> - -<p>"No," he said, surprising himself. "Tell me. What rumors?"</p> - -<p>Norma kept her eyes on her glass. "Nothing," she said, in a new, -strained voice.</p> - -<p>Dodd remained in the same position, feeling more tense than he could -ever remember having felt. "Tell me," he said. "Come on. If you've gone -this far—"</p> - -<p>"I suppose I have," she said. "I suppose I've gone too far now, haven't -I?"</p> - -<p>"You've got to tell me."</p> - -<p>"Yes," she said. "It's—they say the Confederation knows. I mean knows -what we're doing here. Officially. Everything." She dropped the glass -then and Dodd stooped ridiculously to pick it up: it lay between their -chairs. He felt the blood rushing to his head. There was pounding in -his temples. He got the glass and gave it to her but she took it -absently, as if she hardly noticed him. "Of course, it's just a rumor," -she said in a low voice.</p> - -<p>"The people know," Dodd said. "It's out. It's all out. About the -slavery. Is that what you mean?"</p> - -<p>She nodded. "I'm sorry."</p> - -<p>"But it's important—" he began, and stopped. He looked at his glass, -still empty. He took a breath, began again. "I work with them. I'm part -of it. It's important to me."</p> - -<p>"Just as important to me," Norma said. "Believe me, Johnny. I'm -responsible, too."</p> - -<p>"But you're in Psych," he said. "That's—morale. Nothing more than -morale, as far as I know—"</p> - -<p>She raised her head and looked him full in the face, her eyes like a -bright challenge. Her face was quite sober when she spoke. "I'm in -Psych, but it's more than morale, Johnny. We're—always thinking up new -ways to keep the little Alberts in their place. Put it that way. Though -nobody's really come up with an improvement on the original notion."</p> - -<p>"The original notion?"</p> - -<p>Now her smile gave light and no heat, a freak of nature. "The original -specific," she said. She paused for a second and the mockery in her -voice grew more broad. "That old-time religion," she said, drawing the -words out like fine, hot wire. "That old-time religion, Johnny Dodd."</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="c11" id="c11">11</a></h2> - - -<p>The work went on, for Cadnan as well as for the masters. Days passed -and he began to improve slightly: he received no further discipline, -and he was beginning to settle into a routine. Only thoughts of Dara -disturbed him—those, and the presence of Marvor, who was still -apparently waiting to make good his incomprehensible threat.</p> - -<p>Marvor had said he was going to leave, but he still appeared every -evening in the same room. Cadnan had hardly dared to question him, for -fear of being drawn into the plan, whatever it was: he could only wait -and watch and wish for someone to talk to. But, of course, there was no -one.</p> - -<p>And then, one day during the first part of his working shift, a master -came into the room, the very master who had gone with Cadnan through -his training. "You're Cadnan?" he asked.</p> - -<p>Cadnan said: "I am Cadnan."</p> - -<p>The master beckoned through the open door of Cadnan's working-room, and -two more masters appeared, strange ones, leading between them an elder. -The elder, Cadnan saw at once, had lived through many matings: the -green skin of his arms was turning to silver, and his eye was no longer -bright, but dulling fast with age. He looked at the working-room and at -the young Albert with blank caution.</p> - -<p>"This one is called Gornom," the master said. "He'll be with you when -you work. He's going to help you work—you can teach him all he has to -know. Just make sure you don't let him handle the buttons until we -give you the word. All right?"</p> - -<p>Cadnan understood. "All right," he said, and the three masters left the -room without more words. The door shut behind them and Gornom visibly -relaxed. Yet there was still wariness behind the old eye. "I work in -the field," he said after a second. "I am good worker in the field."</p> - -<p>Cadnan knew from gossip about the field: that was the place where the -metal lay. Alberts worked there, digging it up and bringing it to the -buildings where Cadnan and many like him took over the job. He nodded -slowly, bending his body from the waist instead of from the neck like -the masters, or Marvor. "If you are in the field," he said, "why do you -come here? This is not a place for diggers."</p> - -<p>"I am brought here," Gornom said. "I am an elder many times. What the -masters say, I do. Now they say I come here, and I come."</p> - -<p>Cadnan looked doubtful. "You are to work with me?"</p> - -<p>"So the masters say." That was unanswerable, and Cadnan accepted it. -He flicked a glance at the TV screen which showed him the smelting -process, and leaped for the buttons. After a few minutes of action he -was finished: there was a slight breathing-space.</p> - -<p>"I am to tell you what to do," he said.</p> - -<p>Gornom looked grave. "I see what it is you do," he said. "It is a -lesson. When you act for the masters, the great machines obey you."</p> - -<p>"It is true," Cadnan said.</p> - -<p>"This is the lesson," Gornom said slowly, as if it were truly -important. "We are shown the machines so that we may learn to be like -the machines. When the master tells us what to do, we are to do it. -There is nothing else."</p> - -<p>Cadnan thought about that. It made sense: it made a structure he could -understand, and it made the world a less confusing place. "You have -said a truth," he judged at last.</p> - -<p>"It is one of many truths," Gornom said. And that was an invitation, -Cadnan recognized. He hesitated no more than a second.</p> - -<p>"Where may I learn the others?" But Gornom didn't answer, and Cadnan's -breathing-space was over. He had to be back at the board, pushing -buttons, watching carefully. Gornom stood behind him, peering over his -shoulder with a cloudy eye. Neither said a word until the new spell of -work was over. Then Cadnan repeated his question.</p> - -<p>"It is not for all," Gornom said distantly. "One must be chosen."</p> - -<p>"You have come to me," Cadnan said. "You have been sent to me. Is this -what you call chosen?"</p> - -<p>It was the right answer, perhaps the only right answer. Gornom -pretended to consider the matter for a minute, but his mind was already -made up. "We are above you, on the floor over yours," he said. "When -our work is finished I will take you there."</p> - -<p>Cadnan imagined a parade of new truths, a store of knowledge that would -lay all his questions to rest and leave him, as after a meal, entirely -satisfied. He went back to work and contemplated the first of the -truths: he was to be like the machine. He promised himself he would try -to imitate the machine, doing only what the masters ordered. And for -the rest of that day, indeed, life seemed to make perfect calming sense.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>But, after all, Gornom was only an elder and not a master. He could be -wrong.</p> - -<p>The doubt appeared at the end of the day, but by then Gornom had the -younger Albert in tow. They took the elevator up one flight and went -to Gornom's room: the novelty of all of this excited Cadnan so that -he nearly forgot his new doubts. They shrank perceptibly without -disappearing altogether.</p> - -<p>Gornom opened the door of the new room. Inside, Cadnan saw six elders, -sitting in a circle on the floor. The circle, incomplete, was open -toward the door, and all six big eyes were staring at the newcomers. -The floor was nearly bare: the leaves had been brushed into mounds that -lay in the corners.</p> - -<p>Without a word, Gornom sat in the circle and motioned Cadnan to a place -beside him. Moving slowly and uncertainly, Cadnan came forward and sat -down. There was a second of absolute silence.</p> - -<p>One of the other elders said: "You bring a new one to us?"</p> - -<p>"I bring a new one," Gornom said.</p> - -<p>The other elder, leaning forward from the waist, peered at Cadnan. His -eye was larger than normal, and glittering cold. Cadnan, awestruck, -neither spoke nor moved, and the elder regarded him for a time and then -said abruptly: "Not all are called to the truth."</p> - -<p>"He has been called," Gornom said. "He has been chosen."</p> - -<p>"How is he chosen?"</p> - -<p>Gornom explained. When he had finished, a silence thick as velvet -descended upon the room. Then, very suddenly, all the elders spoke at -once.</p> - -<p>"May the masters live forever."</p> - -<p>Cadnan, by this time, was nearly paralyzed with fright. He sat very -still. The elders continued, in a slow, leaden chorus:</p> - -<p>"May the masters live forever.</p> - -<p>"May the words live forever.</p> - -<p>"May the lessons live forever.</p> - -<p>"May the truths live forever."</p> - -<p>Then the velvet silence came down again, but the words rang through it -faintly until Gornom broke the spell with speech.</p> - -<p>"The young one has come to learn. He has come to know the truths." He -looked around at the others and then went on: "His name is Cadnan. He -wishes to have your names. Let him have your names."</p> - -<p>The elder who had spoken first identified himself as Lonak. The others -gave their names in order: Dalor, Puna, Grudoc, Burlog, Montun. Cadnan -stared with fascinated eyes at Puna, who was older than anyone he had -ever seen. His skin was nearly all white, and in the dim room it seemed -to have a faint shine. His voice was very high and thin, like a wind -sighing in tall tree-branches. Cadnan shivered, but didn't take his eye -from Puna until, as if at a signal, all the elders rose. Awkwardly, -then, Cadnan rose with them, again confused and still frightened.</p> - -<p>He saw Gornom raise his hands over his head and chant: "Tall are the -masters."</p> - -<p>All the others repeated the words.</p> - -<p>"Wise are the masters."</p> - -<p>Cadnan, this time, repeated the phrase with the elders.</p> - -<p>"Good are the masters."</p> - -<p>When the antiphon had been delivered Gornom waited a full second and -then fell prostrate to the floor. The others followed his example, -except for Cadnan, who, afraid to let himself fall on bare metal, -crouched down slowly instead.</p> - -<p>"Weak are the slaves," Gornom whispered.</p> - -<p>The answer was a whisper, too.</p> - -<p>"Small are the slaves."</p> - -<p>The others whispered.</p> - -<p>"They are like small ones all the days of their lives, and only the -masters are elders."</p> - -<p>"The masters are elders."</p> - -<p>"As the machine obeys," Gornom said, "so the slave obeys. As the tree -obeys, so the slave obeys. As the metal obeys, so the slave obeys. As -the ground obeys, so the slave obeys."</p> - -<p>"So the slave obeys."</p> - -<p>Then there was silence again, not as profound as before. Through it, -Cadnan could hear the others whispering, but he couldn't quite catch -their words. He was later told what praying was, though he never had a -chance to practice it.</p> - -<p>And then everyone returned to the original circle, and squatted. In -what was almost a normal tone Gornom said: "Here is our new one. He -must be told."</p> - -<p>Puna himself rose. "I will tell him." And Cadnan, frightened by the -very look of the elder, could do nothing but follow him as he beckoned -and went to a corner near a mound of leaves. The others, scattered, -were eating. Cadnan picked up a leaf, but Puna took it gently out of -his hand.</p> - -<p>"We do not eat until it is over," he said quietly.</p> - -<p>Cadnan accepted this without words, and Puna told him the legend. -During the entire tale, Cadnan, stock-still, didn't even think of -interrupting. At first his attention wandered to the leaves, but as -Puna's voice went on he listened more and more closely, and even his -fright began to leave him under the legend's fascination.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"Long ago, the masters come to the world, sent by the Great Elder. We -are no more than children. We do not work, we do nothing except eat and -sleep and live out our lives in the world. The Great Elder makes us the -gift of talking and the gift of trees, and he makes the rules of the -trees.</p> - -<p>"Then he does nothing more for us. First we must become more than -children, more than small ones.</p> - -<p>"For this he sends the masters.</p> - -<p>"The masters are good because they show us work and give us machines -that have power. Our power is over the masters because of the machines. -But we may not use such power. They are elder to us: they are wiser -than we are. Only when we become so wise we use power against them, -and in that day master and slave are one. In that day the Great Elder -returns to his small ones.</p> - -<p>"In this time there is the work, and the work makes us always more -like the masters. We live in the buildings like masters. We work with -machines like masters. We do what the masters say. Soon we are all the -same.</p> - -<p>"No one can tell when we are like masters in all things. We know of it -when the Great Elder returns to us. All must watch and wait for that -day. In this time, we only remember and tell ourselves the truths over -and over. There are many truths and some I can not speak. Here are the -others:</p> - -<p>"The masters are our elders.</p> - -<p>"The machines are under obedience to us while we obey the masters.</p> - -<p>"The Great Elder wishes our obedience to the masters.</p> - -<p>"If we disobey the masters the machines and the trees will not obey us, -and there will be no more work and no small ones. For this is the order -of the world: some obeying and some to be obeyed. It is visible and -plain. When the chain is broken all the chain breaks."</p> - -<p>Puna paused, and then repeated the last sentence.</p> - -<p>"When the chain is broken all the chain breaks."</p> - -<p>"It is true," Cadnan said excitedly. "It is true. Yet there is more -truth—"</p> - -<p>"There is," Puna said soberly. "We meet again in five days' time. I can -count five days, and so the others will know, and you will know. At -this next meeting you will be told more truths." His smile was thin and -distant. "Now eat."</p> - -<p>Cadnan reached numbly for a leaf and, without thinking, began to -nibble. The world had been set in order: he had no more questions now. -Instead, he felt empty spaces, waiting to be filled with the great -knowledge of Puna and of Gornom and all the others, at the next meeting.</p> - -<p>And at other meetings, after that....</p> - -<p>He put that thought away: it was too much and too large. The one -certain thing was that in five days' time (whenever that was) he would -know more. In five days they would all meet again.</p> - -<p>He hoped five days was not too long.</p> - -<p>As matters turned out, of course, he need not have worried. The meeting -he was waiting for never happened.</p> - -<p>And, after that, there were no more meetings at all.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p class="ph3">PUBLIC OPINION THREE</p> - -<p>Being excerpts from memo directives sent between executives of -Associated Metallic Products, Ltd., a corporation having its main -offices within Dome Two, Luna City, Luna, and associated offices on -all three inhabited planets, the memo directives being dated between -May fourteenth and May twenty-first, in the Year of the Confederation -two hundred and ten.</p></div> - -<div class="blockquot2"> -<p>TO: John Harrison</p> - -<p>FROM: Fredk. Ramsbotham</p> - -<p>RE: Metals supplies & shipment</p> - -<p>It having come to my attention that the process of metals shipment -is in danger because of a threat to the materials and procurement -divisions of AMP, Ltd., I wish to advise you, as current Chairman of -the Board, of the nature of the emergency, and request your aid in -drawing up plans to deal with it.</p> - -<p>According to reports from our outside operatives, and such statistical -checking as we have been able to use in a matter of this nature, -there exists a strong possibility that present procurement procedures -regarding our raw materials may at any moment be abrogated by act of -the Confederation government. The original motive for this action would -seem to be a rising tide of public unrest, sparked apparently by -chance disclosure of our procurement procedures. That the public unrest -may very soon reach the point at which Confederation notice, and hence -Confederation action, may be taken is the best judgment both of our -outside operatives and of our statistical department.</p> - -<p>In order to deal with this unprecedented emergency, it would be -advisable to have your thoughts on the matter. With these in hand....</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>TO: Fred Ramsbotham</p> - -<p>FROM: John Harrison</p> - -<p>RE: Your memo May 14</p> - -<p>My God, Fred, I haven't seen such a collection of verbiage since Latin -class. Why not say what you mean? People are calling the setup on -Fruyling's World slavery, and slavery is a nasty word.</p> - -<p>Let's get together for a talk—and what's with the high-sounding guff? -You sound sore about something: what?</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>TO: James Oliver Gogarty</p> - -<p>FROM: Leonard Offutt</p> - -<p>RE: Statistical findings</p> - -<p>... The situation is serious, J. O., and there's no getting around -it. If the Government has to take action there's only one way (given -current majorities) they're going to be able to move, and that's to -declare Fruyling's World a protectorate, or some such (get your lawyers -to straighten out the terminology: in plain and simple English, a ward -of the state), and "administer" the place for the best interests of the -natives.</p> - -<p>Get that: the natives.</p> - -<p>Never mind us, never mind AMP, never mind the metals we need.</p> - -<p>No, the Government will step in and take all that away from us in the -interests of a bunch of silly green-looking monsters who can barely -talk and can't, as near as I can see, think at all.</p> - -<p>Statistics doesn't give us much of a chance of heading them off. As a -matter of fact, any recommended course of action has better than a 50% -chance of making matters even worse. And if you don't think they <i>can</i> -be worse, take a look at the attached sheet, which....</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>TO: John Harrison</p> - -<p>FROM: Fredk. Ramsbotham</p> - -<p>RE: Your memo May 15</p> - -<p>Have you never heard of the Confederation impounding records? Or these -memos, for instance?</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>TO: Fred Ramsbotham</p> - -<p>FROM: John Harrison</p> - -<p>RE: Your memo May 15</p> - -<p>Have you never heard of AMP burning them, you silly damn fool?</p> - -<p>Now let's get together for a talk.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>TO: James Oliver Gogarty</p> - -<p>FROM: Gregory Whiting and staff</p> - -<p>RE: Your memo May 17</p> - -<p>Pressure put on Confederation executives and members of the Senate -might convince the Confederation that, without a fight, Fruyling's -World would not surrender to Confederation control.</p> - -<p>It might not be advisable to begin such a fight. Even with modern -methods of transport and training, the weapons gap between the -Confederation and Fruyling's World is a severe handicap. In other -words, J. O., if it came to a showdown the people here don't think we -stand a fair chance of coming out on top.</p> - -<p>You'd better rethink your position, then....</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>TO: James Oliver Gogarty</p> - -<p>FROM: John Harrison</p> - -<p>RE: Fruyling's World</p> - -<p>Interoffice guff says you're planning definite moves on your own, -J. O., and against some opposition.</p> - -<p>I'm still Chairman of the Board around here, and I intend to use -power if I have to. The best advice I can get tells me your plans are -unadvisable.</p> - -<p>Get it through your head that this has nothing to do with the Board -elections. This is a serious matter. I can stop you, J. O., and don't -think I won't if it comes to that. But I don't want to make threats.</p> - -<p>There must be something we can do—but we're going to have to devote -more thought to the whole matter first.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>TO: James Oliver Gogarty</p> - -<p>FROM: Leonard Offutt</p> - -<p>RE: Statistical findings</p> - -<p>Chances of such pressure succeeding are, according to derived figures, -37%. Chances of the pressure leading to actual attack on Fruyling's -World (see attached sheet) are 58%.</p> - -<p>We cannot advise....</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>TO: Fredk. Ramsbotham</p> - -<p>FROM: James Oliver Gogarty</p> - -<p>RE: Attached statistical findings</p> - -<p>... Of course it's a risk, Frederick, but we're in the risk-taking -business, and we always were, as your father used to say, and mine too. -Between us, John is a cautious old man, and the rest of the Board is -beginning to appreciate that. By next year the entire situation may -have changed.</p> - -<p>I'm asking for your support, then, as a matter of practical politics. -In a risky matter like this one, support can make all the difference -between....</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>TO: James Oliver Gogarty</p> - -<p>FROM: John Harrison</p> - -<p>RE: My memo May 19</p> - -<p>J. O., I mean it.</p> - -<p>Now lay off.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>TO: Williston Reed</p> - -<p>FROM: John Harrison</p> - -<p>RE: Current memo series</p> - -<p>As you know, I'm keeping you up to date whenever I have a minute -between appointments: a publicity chief ought to know everything, -inside as well as public-issue material, if only so he can be conscious -of what to hide. I've tried to work with you as well as I can, and if -there are delays in reporting, you'll understand that pressure of other -duties....</p> - -<p>... The story behind all of this is simple enough. The takeover Gogarty -and Ramsbotham have been trying to pull is interfering with practical -business. Frankly, AMP'S competitors are happy enough to jump in and -stir the pot: I think they've been buying up Senators here and there -(for which there is, God knows, enough precedent; the entire Senate -hasn't been bought since the Dedrick mutiny forty years back but you -don't <i>need</i> the entire Senate if you have a few key men, and I've -always thought Dedrick's lawyers were wasteful), and beyond what the -competition's been active in, there are always the fanatics. Freedom -for all—you know the sort of thing.</p> - -<p>Now the big danger is that if R. and G. succeed in keeping things -messed up the rest of the metals boys will step in, push the government -into the right moves, and kill Fruyling's World deader than Dedrick -himself. Which (according to the statistical breakdown) won't put us -into the bankruptcy courts, but will slide us from a first-or-second -spot to a ninth-or-tenth one. The big question is whether you'd rather -be a small frog in a big puddle or the reverse. Me, I'd rather be a big -frog in a big puddle than any other combination I can think of, and in -spite of everything I think I'm going to go on being just that.</p> - -<p>Fruyling's World has been around for a long time, but the current AMP -fight gives the competition the opportunity they need, and they're -pushing it. If we can weather the storm....</p> - -<p>Well, I'm being gloomy. Of course we can weather the storm. I'll swing -Gogarty back, and that will leave Ramsbotham nowhere to go....</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>TO: John Harrison</p> - -<p>FROM: Fredk. Ramsbotham</p> - -<p>RE: Fruyling's World</p> - -<p>... Support of the suggestion put forward by Mr. Gogarty at the last -Board meeting was not, believe me, given without grave consideration.</p> - -<p>Now that the matter has been decided, I hope we can all pull together -like team-mates, and "let the dead past bury its dead". I'm sure -that....</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>TO: Fred Ramsbotham</p> - -<p>FROM: John Harrison</p> - -<p>RE: Your memo May 21</p> - -<p>I'm worrying a little more about burying some of the currently -living—our own men on Fruyling's World.</p> - -<p>I've got to ask you to reconsider....</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>TO: All news services, for immediate release</p> - -<p>FROM: Williston Reed</p> - -<p>As almost his first act on taking his position as Chairman of the Board -of Associated Metallic Products, Ltd., Frederick Ramsbotham today -issued a statement of policy regarding "interference by Confederation -governmental officials" in what he termed the "private business of AMP."</p> - -<p>Mr. Ramsbotham, whose recent election came as a surprise to many -shareholders, has stated his intention of "remaining firm in -continuance of present policies" regardless of what he described as -"threats" from Confederation officials.</p> - -<p>He states that his duty to shareholders of AMP must include protection -of the private and profit-making enterprise being carried on at -Fruyling's World, and that such private concerns are not "the business -of public government."</p> - -<p>As former Chairman of the Board, John Harrison was asked to comment -on the position taken by Mr. Ramsbotham. Mr. Harrison stated that he -disagreed with the particular stand taken by Mr. Ramsbotham in this -matter, but sympathized with his strong feelings of duty toward the -shareholders of the concern.</p> - -<p>Confederation response was reported to be "immediate and strong" by -sources high in the government, but as yet no final word has been -received regarding what action, if any, is contemplated....</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>TO: Fredk. Ramsbotham</p> - -<p>FROM: John Harrison</p> - -<p>SUBJECT: The daily paper</p> - -<p>Now you've torn it.</p> - -<p>Unless you think we can make money selling weapons to be used against -our own people on Fruyling's World.</p> - -<p>I've sold out my shares as of this morning, Fred. I'm through. I think -you are, too—whether you know it or not just yet.</p></div> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="c12" id="c12">12</a></h2> - - -<p>"That old-time religion."</p> - -<p>Dodd heard the words echoing in his mind that night, and the next -night, and the next. All that she had said:</p> - -<p>"We set up a nice pie-in-the-sky sort of thing, all according to the -best theory, just the thing to keep the Alberts happy and satisfied and -working hard for us. It started right after the first setup here, and -by now I guess the Alberts think they invented it all by themselves, or -their Great Elder came down from a tree and told them."</p> - -<p>"It's horrible," he had said.</p> - -<p>"Of course it is." There was a silence. "But you said it yourself: what -can we do? We're here and we're stuck here."</p> - -<p>"But—"</p> - -<p>Norma didn't want to argue, but the argument went on in Dodd's mind, -and it still continued, circling in his mind like a buzzard. There -was nothing he could do about it, nothing Norma could do about it. He -avoided even the thought of seeing her for a few days, and then he -found himself making an excuse to go over to Building One. He met her -there, after lounging about for hours.</p> - -<p>And what she had disclosed to him, what they spoke of, made no -difference that he could see in what he felt.</p> - -<p>He was happy. Slowly he realized that he had hardly ever been happy -before.</p> - -<p>He even forgot, for a time, about the rumors, the threat of -Confederation troops that had hung over her words like a gray cloud: -all he could think of was Norma, and the terrible thing in which they -were both bound up.</p> - -<p>He told himself grimly that it would never have bothered Albin, for -instance. Albin would have had his fun with Norma, and that would have -been that.</p> - -<p>But it bothered Johnny Dodd.</p> - -<p>He was still worrying over it, and in spite of himself finding -happiness, when the escape came, and the end.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="c13" id="c13">13</a></h2> - - -<p>"There's nothing to be done about it." Dr. Haenlingen delivered the -words and sat down rigidly behind her desk. Norma nodded, very slowly.</p> - -<p>"I know that," she said. "I started out—I started to do just what you -wanted. To talk to him, draw him out, find out just what he did feel -and what he planned."</p> - -<p>"And then something happened," Dr. Haenlingen said tightly. "I know."</p> - -<p>Norma paced to the window and looked out, but the day was gray: she saw -only her own reflection. "Something happened," she murmured. "I—guess -I had too much to drink. I wanted to talk."</p> - -<p>"So I understand," Dr. Haenlingen said. "And you talked. And—whatever -his situation—you managed to increase his tension rather than -understand or lessen it."</p> - -<p>Norma shook her head at the reflection. "I'm sorry."</p> - -<p>"I have often found," Dr. Haenlingen said, "that sorrow following an -action is worse than useless. It usually implies a request to commit -the same action again."</p> - -<p>"But I wouldn't—" Norma said, turning, and then stopped before the -calm gaze of the old woman.</p> - -<p>"No?" Dr. Haenlingen said.</p> - -<p>"I'll try to—"</p> - -<p>Dr. Haenlingen lifted a hand and brushed the words aside. "It doesn't -matter," she said. "I am beginning to see that it doesn't matter."</p> - -<p>"But—"</p> - -<p>"All we can do now is wait," Dr. Haenlingen said. "We are—outplayed."</p> - -<p>There was a little silence. Norma waited through it without moving.</p> - -<p>"Would you like to have a lesson in psychology?" Dr. Haenlingen said -in the graying room. "Would you like to learn a little, just a little, -about your fellow man?"</p> - -<p>Norma felt suddenly frightened. "What's wrong?"</p> - -<p>"Nothing is wrong," Dr. Haenlingen said. "Everything is moving along -exactly as might have been predicted. If we had known what the -Confederation planned, and exactly the timetable of their actions ... -but we did not, and could not. Norma, listen to me."</p> - -<p>The story she told was very simple. It took a fairly long time to tell.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Slavery takes a toll of the slaves (as the Confederation was beginning -to find out, as the idealists, the do-gooders, were beginning, however -slowly to realize). But it takes a toll of the masters, too.</p> - -<p>The masters can't quite rid themselves of the idea that beings which -react so much like people may really (in spite of everything, in spite -of appearance, in spite of laws and regulations and social practices) -be people, after all, in everything but name and training.</p> - -<p>And it just wouldn't be right to treat <i>people</i> that way....</p> - -<p>Slaves feel pain. In simple reciprocity, masters feel guilt.</p> - -<p>And because (according to the society, and the laws, and the -appearances, and the regulations) there was no need for guilt, the -masters of Fruyling's World had, like masters anywhere and any time, -buried the guilt, hidden it even from themselves, forbidden its -existence and forgotten to mention it to their thoughts.</p> - -<p>But the guilt remained, and the guilt demanded.</p> - -<p>Punishment was needed.</p> - -<p>"They're going to fight," Dr. Haenlingen said. "When the Confederation -attacks, they're going to fight back. It's senseless: even if we -won, the Confederation fleet could blockade us, prevent us getting a -shipment out, bottle us up and starve us for good. But they don't need -sense, they need motive, which is quite a different thing. They're -going to fight—both because they need the punishment of a really good -licking, and because fighting is one more way for them to deny their -guilt."</p> - -<p>"It seems complex," Norma said.</p> - -<p>"Everything is complex," Dr. Haenlingen said, "as soon as human beings -engage in it. The action is simple enough: warfare."</p> - -<p>"We've got to stop them—"</p> - -<p>Dr. Haenlingen went on as if she hadn't heard. "The action serves two -different, indeed two contradictory purposes. If you think that's -something rare in the actions of mankind, you must be more naive than -you have any right to be."</p> - -<p>"We've got to stop them," Norma said again. "Got to. They'll die—we'll -all die."</p> - -<p>"There is nothing to do," Dr. Haenlingen said. "We are outplayed—by -the Confederation, by our own selves. We are outplayed: there are no -moves left. There is nothing I can offer, nothing anyone can offer, -quite as attractive as the double gift of punishment and denial." -Shockingly, for the first time, the old woman sounded tired. Her voice -was thin in the gray room. "Nothing we can do, Norma. You're dismissed: -go back to work."</p> - -<p>"But you can't just give up—you can show them there aren't any real -reasons, show them they're not being rational—"</p> - -<p>"Oh, but they'll be rational," Dr. Haenlingen said in the same still -voice. "Wait for the rumors to start, Norma. Wait for them to begin -telling each other that the Confederation is going to kill them all -anyhow, take them back and hang them as war criminals—"</p> - -<p>"That's ridiculous!"</p> - -<p>"Perhaps."</p> - -<p>"Then—"</p> - -<p>"Rumors during a war are almost always ridiculous. That fact makes -no difference at all. They'll be believed—because they have to be -believed."</p> - -<p>Norma thought. "We can start counter-rumors."</p> - -<p>"Which would not be believed. They offer nothing, nothing that these -people want. Oh, yes, people can be changed—" Dr. Haenlingen paused. -"Given sufficient time and sufficient equipment, it is possible to make -anyone into anything, anything at all. But to change these people, to -make them act as we want—the time required is more than ten years, -Norma. And we haven't got ten years."</p> - -<p>"We've got to try," Norma said earnestly.</p> - -<p>"What we have got," Dr. Haenlingen said, "is more like ten days. -And there is nothing to do in ten days. The people have spoken. -Vox populi...." The eyes closed. There was a silence Norma waited, -astonished, horrified. "Perhaps it is necessary," Dr. Haenlingen's -voice said. "Perhaps ... we must wait. <i>Ich kann nicht anders....</i>"</p> - -<p>"What?" Norma asked.</p> - -<p>"Martin Luther," Dr. Haenlingen's voice said, remote and thin. "It -means: 'I can do nothing else.' He wrote it as his justification for -a course of action that was going to get him excommunicated, perhaps -killed."</p> - -<p>"But—"</p> - -<p>Dr. Haenlingen said nothing, did nothing. The body sat behind its desk -in the gray room. Norma stared, then turned and fled.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="c14" id="c14">14</a></h2> - - -<p>The mixture of feelings inside Cadnan was entirely new to him, and -he couldn't control it very well. He found himself shaking without -meaning to, and was unable to stop himself. There was relief, first of -all, that it was all over, that he no longer had to worry about what -Marvor might have planned, or whether Marvor were going to involve -him. There was fright, seeing anyone carry through such a foolhardy, -almost impious idea in the teeth of the masters. And there was simple -disappointment, the disappointment of a novice theologue who has seen -his pet heretic slip the net and go free.</p> - -<p>For Cadnan had tried, earnestly, night after night, to convert Marvor -to the new truths the elders had shown him. They were luminously -obvious to Cadnan, and they set the world in beautiful order; but, -somehow, he couldn't get through to Marvor at all, couldn't express -the ideas he had well enough or convincingly enough to let Marvor see -how beautiful and true all of them really were. For a time, in fact, -he told himself with bitterness that Marvor's escape had really been -all his own fault. If he'd only had more talks with Marvor, he thought -cloudily, or if he'd only been able to speak more convincingly....</p> - -<p>But regret is part of a subjunctive vocabulary. At least one writer -has noted that the subjunctive is the mark of civilization. This may -be true: it seems true: in Cadnan's case, at any rate, it certainly -was true. Uncivilized, he spent little time in subjunctive moods. -All that he had done, all that Marvor had done, was open to him, and -he remembered it often—but, once the bad first minutes were past, he -remembered everything with less and less regret. The mixture, as it -stood, was heady enough for Cadnan's untrained emotions.</p> - -<p>He had tried to talk to Marvor about the truths, of course. Marvor, -though, had been obstinately indifferent. Nothing made any impression -on his hardened, stubborn mind. And now he was gone.</p> - -<p>Dara had the news first. She came into their common room at the end of -the day, very excited, her hands still moving as if she were turning -handles in the refinery even after the close of work. Cadnan, still -feeling an attraction for her, and perceiving now that something had -disturbed her, stayed where he was squatting. Attraction for Dara, and -help given to her, might lead to mating, and mating was against the -rule. But Dara came to him.</p> - -<p>"Do you know what happens with Marvor?" she said. Her voice, always -quiet, was still as sweet to Cadnan as it had ever been. "He is gone, -and the masters do not know where."</p> - -<p>The mixture of emotions began: surprise and relief first, then regret -and disappointment, then fear, all boiling and bubbling inside him like -a witch's stew. He spoke without thinking: "He is gone to break the -chain of obedience. He is gone to find others who think as he thinks."</p> - -<p>"He is escaped," Dara said. "It is the word the masters use, when they -speak of this."</p> - -<p>"It happens before now," Cadnan told her. "There are others, whom he -joins."</p> - -<p>Dara shut her eye. "It is true. But I know what happens when there is -an escape. In the place where my work is, there is one from Great Bend -Tree. She tells me of what happens."</p> - -<p>Dara fell silent and Cadnan watched her nervously. But he had no chance -to speak: she began again, convulsively.</p> - -<p>"When this other escapes it is from a room of Great Bend Tree." -Cadnan nodded: he and Dara were of Bent Line Tree, and hence in a -different room. The segregation, simple for the masters, was handy and -unimportant, and so it was used. Cadnan thought it natural: every tree -had its own room.</p> - -<p>"Do they find the one who escapes?" he asked.</p> - -<p>"They find him. The masters come in and they punish the others from the -room."</p> - -<p>Precedent was clearly recognizable, even though it made no sense. -Those who had not escaped surely had no reason to be punished, Cadnan -thought. But what the masters had done to Great Bend Tree they would do -to Bent Line Tree.</p> - -<p>Everyone would be punished.</p> - -<p>With a shock he realized that "everyone" included Dara.</p> - -<p>He heard himself speak. "You must go."</p> - -<p>Dara looked at him innocently. "Go?" she said.</p> - -<p>"You must go as Marvor has gone. The masters do not take you for -punishment if you go."</p> - -<p>"There is nothing for me to do," she said, and her eye closed. "No. I -wait for you, but only to tell you this: there is nothing I can do."</p> - -<p>"Marvor is gone," Cadnan said slowly. "You, too, can go. Maybe the -masters do not find you. If you stay you are punished. If you go and -they do not find you there is no punishment for you." It amazed him -that she could not see so clear a point.</p> - -<p>"Then all can go," she said. "All can escape punishment."</p> - -<p>Cadnan grunted, thinking that over. "Where one goes," he said at last, -"one can go. Maybe many can not go."</p> - -<p>Her answer was swift. "And you?"</p> - -<p>"I stay here," he said, trying to sound as decisive as possible.</p> - -<p>Dara turned away. "I do not listen to your words," she said flatly. "I -do not hear you or see you."</p> - -<p>Cadnan hissed in anguish. She had to understand.... "What do I say that -is wrong? You must—"</p> - -<p>"You speak of my going alone," she said. "But that is me, and no more. -What of the others?"</p> - -<p>"Marvor," Cadnan said after a second. "He is to come and aid them. He -tells me this. We join him and come back with him, away from here, to -where he stays now. Then none of us are punished." He paused. "It will -be a great punishment."</p> - -<p>"I know," Dara said. "Yet one does not go alone."</p> - -<p>Her voice was so low that Cadnan could barely hear it, but the words -were like sharp stones, stabbing fear into his body. For the first -time, he saw clearly exactly what she was driving at. And after a long -pause, she spoke again.</p> - -<p>"Where one goes, two may go. Where Marvor goes, two may follow, one to -lead the other."</p> - -<p>"One goes alone," Cadnan said, feeling himself tremble and trying to -control it. "You must go."</p> - -<p>It seemed a long time before she spoke again, and Cadnan held himself -tightly, until his muscles began to ache.</p> - -<p>"We go together," she said at last "Two go where one has gone. Only so -do I leave at all."</p> - -<p>It was an ultimatum, and Cadnan understood what was behind it. But an -attraction between Dara and himself ... he said: "There is the rule of -the tree," but it was like casting water on steel.</p> - -<p>"If we leave here," Dara said, "why think of a smaller rule?"</p> - -<p>Cadnan tried to find words, but there were no words. She had won, -and he knew it. He could not let Dara stay behind to draw a great -punishment, possibly even to die, to be no more Dara. And there was no -way of forcing her to go and escape that fate—no way except to go with -her.</p> - -<p>"We must wait until they sleep," Dara said in a sudden return to -practicality. "Then we go."</p> - -<p>Cadnan looked around at the huddled, vaguely stirring forms of his -companions. Fear was joined by a sort of sickness he had never known -before. He was a slave, and that was good—but once outside where -would he find work, or food, or a master? Where there was no master, -Cadnan told himself, there was no slave: he was nothing, nameless, -non-existent.</p> - -<p>But there was neither word nor action for him now. He tried once more -to argue but his words were parried with a calm tenacity that left -no room for discussion. In the end he was ready to do what he had to -do—had to do in order, simply, to save Dara. There was no other -reason: he needed none.</p> - -<p>He had heard of the attraction of male for female, though some did not -experience it until the true time of mating. He had not until that -moment known how strong the attraction could be.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The waiting, though it seemed like positive days, didn't take long. The -others in the room fell asleep, by habit, one by one, and soon Dara and -Cadnan were the only ones left awake. Neither was tempted to sleep: -their own terror and their decision kept them very effectively alert.</p> - -<p>Cadnan said: "If the masters see us?"</p> - -<p>Dara turned on him a face that seemed completely calm. "They do not see -us," she said flatly. "Now do not speak."</p> - -<p>They rose and, silently, went to the door. The door opened just as -quietly, and shut once again behind them.</p> - -<p>The corridor was filled with watching eyes, Cadnan felt: but there were -no masters in evidence. They stood for a second, waiting, and then Dara -started down toward the big room at the end, her feet silent on the -floor, and Cadnan followed her.</p> - -<p>No masters were visible. There should have been guards, but the guards -might have been anywhere: one escape had hardly served to alert a lazy, -uninterested group who performed their duties out of no more than -habit. Wherever the guards were resting, they were not in the corridor: -everything went smoothly. It was smoother than Cadnan was willing to -believe.</p> - -<p>Soon, though, they were actually in the great lobby of the building. -It, too, was dark and empty. They stood dwarfed by the place, the -gigantic doors that led to freedom no more than a few feet away.</p> - -<p>Cadnan kept telling himself that where Marvor had gone he, too, could -go. But Marvor had had a plan, and Cadnan had none.</p> - -<p>Yet they were safe—so far, so far. They walked toward the door now, -a step at a time. Each step seemed to take an hour, a full day. Dara -walked ahead, straight and tall: Cadnan caught up with her, and she put -out her hand. There was no more than an instant of hesitation. He took -the hand.</p> - -<p>That pledged them to each other, until the time of mating. But what was -one more law now?</p> - -<p>Another step. Another.</p> - -<p>Cadnan, in the silence, was suddenly tempted to make a noise, any sort -of noise—but it seemed impossible to create sound. The quiet dimness -wrapped him like a blanket. He took another step.</p> - -<p>Mating, he thought. If the chain of obedience was broken would the -trees refuse to obey, in their turn? Puna had said so, and it was true. -And if the trees refused to obey there would be no mating....</p> - -<p>Yet Dara would be safe. That was the important thing. One thing at a -time.</p> - -<p>Another step.</p> - -<p>And then, at last, the door.</p> - -<p>Cadnan pushed at it, and it opened—and then there was sound, plenty of -sound, more sound than he could have imagined, sound to fill the great -lobby, to fill the entire building with rocking, trembling agonies of -noise!</p> - -<p>There was an alarm-bell, to be exact, an alarm-buzzer, combinations and -solo cadenzas. The guards were, after all, no more than dressing: the -automatic machinery never slept, and it responded beautifully and with -enthusiasm.</p> - -<p>Cadnan and Dara ran crazily out into the darkness. The building fell -behind them and the jungle was ahead: still they ran, but Cadnan felt -the ground, bumpy instead of smooth, and stumbled once, nearly falling. -He saw Dara ahead of him. Getting up and beginning again was automatic: -panic beat at him. The noise grew and grew. His feet moved, his heart -thudded....</p> - -<p>And then the lights went on.</p> - -<p>Automatic sweep searchlights were keyed in. The machinery continued to -respond.</p> - -<p>Cadnan found himself suddenly struck blind: ahead of him, Dara made a -single, lonely, terrified sound that overrode all the alarms.</p> - -<p>Cadnan tried to shout: "We must run! In the dark the masters cannot -see—"</p> - -<p>But, of course, by then it was too late to move.</p> - -<p>The masters were all around them.</p> - -<p>The escape was over.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="c15" id="c15">15</a></h2> - - -<p>Of course there was Norma, Dodd told himself.</p> - -<p>There was Norma to make everything worth-while—except that Norma -needed something, too, and he couldn't provide it. No one could provide -it, not as long as no one was allowed off-planet. And it was quite -certain, Dodd told himself gloomily, that the restrictions that had -been in force yesterday were going to look like freedom and carefree -joy compared with the ones going into effect tomorrow, or next week.</p> - -<p>If, of course, there was going to be a tomorrow ... that, he thought, -was always in doubt. He managed sometimes to find a sort of illusory -peace in thinking of himself as dead, scattered into component atoms, -finished, forever unconscious, no longer wanting anything, no longer -seeing the blinking words in his mind. Somewhere in his brain a small -germ stirred redly against the prospect, but he tried to ignore it: -that was no more than brute self-preservation, incapable of reasoning. -That was no more than human nature.</p> - -<p>And human nature, he knew with terror, was about to be overthrown once -more.</p> - -<p>It was only human, after all, to find the cheapest way to do necessary -work. It was only human to want the profits high and the costs low. -It was only human to look on other races as congenitally inferior, as -less-than-man in any possible sense, as materials, in fact, to be used.</p> - -<p>That was certainly human: centuries of bloody experience proved it. -But the Confederation didn't want to recognize human nature. The -Confederation didn't like slavery.</p> - -<p>The rumor he'd heard from Norma was barely rumor any more: instead, it -had become the next thing to an officially announced fact. Everyone -knew it, even if next to no one spoke of it. The Confederation was -going to send ships—had probably sent ships already. There was going -to be a war.</p> - -<p>The very word "war" roused that red spark of self-preservation. It was -harder, Dodd had found, to live with hope than to live without it: it -was always possible to become resigned to a given state of affairs—but -not if you kept thinking matters would improve. So he stamped on the -spark, kept it down, ignored it. You had to accept things, and go on -from there.</p> - -<p>It was too bad Norma didn't know that.</p> - -<p>He'd tried to tell her, of course. They'd even been talking, over in -Building One, on the very night of the near-escape. He'd explained it -all very clearly and lucidly, without passion (since he had cut himself -off from hope he found he had very few passions of any kind left, and -that made it easy); but she hadn't been convinced.</p> - -<p>"As long as there's a fighting chance to live, I want to live," she'd -said. "As long as there's any chance at all—the same as you."</p> - -<p>"I know what I want," he told her grimly.</p> - -<p>"What?" she asked, and smiled. "Do you like what you're doing? Do you -like what I'm doing—what the whole arrangement is here?"</p> - -<p>He shrugged. "You know I don't."</p> - -<p>"Then get out of it," she said, still smiling. "You can, you know. -It's easy. All you have to do is stop living—just like that! No more -trouble."</p> - -<p>"Don't be sil—"</p> - -<p>"It can be done," she went on flatly. "There are hundreds of ways." -Then the smile again. "But you'd rather live, Johnny. You'd rather -live, even this way, being a slaver, than put an end to it and to -yourself."</p> - -<p>He paused. "It's not the same thing."</p> - -<p>"No," she said. "This way, you'd have to do the killing yourself. When -the ships come, you can let them do it for you, just sit and wait for -someone to kill you. Like a cataleptic. But you won't, Johnny."</p> - -<p>"I will," he said.</p> - -<p>She shook her head, the smile remaining. Her voice was quiet and calm, -but there was a feeling of strain in it: there was strain everywhere, -now. Everyone looked at the sky, and saw nothing: everyone listened for -the sound of engines, and there were no engines to hear. "Catalepsy -is a kind of death, Johnny. And you'll have to inflict that much on -yourself. You won't do it."</p> - -<p>"You think I—" He stopped and swallowed. "You think I like living this -way, don't you?"</p> - -<p>"I think you like living," Norma said. "I think we all do, no matter -how rough it gets. No matter how it grates on the nerves, or the flesh, -of the supersensitive conscience. And I know how you feel, Johnny, I -do—I—" She stopped very suddenly.</p> - -<p>He heard his voice say: "I love you."</p> - -<p>There was a silence.</p> - -<p>"Johnny," she said, and her hands reached out for him blindly. He saw, -incredibly, tears like jewels at the corners of her eyes. "Johnny—"</p> - -<p>It was at that moment that the alarm-bell rang. It was heard only -faintly in Building One, but that didn't matter. Dodd knew the -direction, and the sound. He turned to go, for a second no more than a -machine.</p> - -<p>Norma's voice said: "Escape?"</p> - -<p>He came back to her. "I—the alarm tripped off. This time they must -have tried it through the front door, or a window. The last one must -have tunnelled through—"</p> - -<p>He had to leave her. Instead he stood silently for a second. She said -nothing.</p> - -<p>"There are spots the steel's never covered," he said. "You can tunnel -through if you're lucky." A pause. "I—"</p> - -<p>"It's all right, Johnny," she said.</p> - -<p>"Norma—"</p> - -<p>"It's all right I understand. It's all right."</p> - -<p>Her voice. He hung on to it as he turned and walked away, found the -elevator, started away from the room, the Building where she was, -started off to do his duty.</p> - -<p>His duty as a slaver.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The night was long, so long it could have been the night before the end -of the world, the universe drawing one last deep breath before blowing -out the candles and returning, at last, to peace and darkness and -silence. Dodd spent it posted as one of the guards around the two cells -where the Alberts were penned.</p> - -<p>He had plenty of time to think.</p> - -<p>And, in spite of Norma, in spite of everything, he was still sure of -one thing. Because he was a slaver, because he acted, still, as a -slaver and a master, hated by the Confederation, hated by the Alberts, -hated by that small part of himself which had somehow stayed clean of -the foulness of his work and his life, because of all that....</p> - -<p>It was going to be very easy to die.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p class="ph3">PUBLIC OPINION FOUR</p> - -<p>Being an excerpt from a directive issued by the Executive and his -Private Council, elected and confirmed by the Confederation, and -upheld by majority vote of the Senate: the directive preserved in -Confederation Archives, and signed under date of May 21 in the year two -hundred and ten of the Confederation.</p></div> - -<div class="blockquot2"> -<p>... It is therefore directed that sufficient ships be fitted out -with all modern armaments, said fitting to be in the best judgment -of the competent and assigned authorities, and dispatched without -delay toward the planet known as Fruyling's World, both to subdue any -armed resistance to Confederation policy, and to affirm the status of -Fruyling's World as a Protectorate of the Confederation, subject to -Confederation policy and Confederation judgment.</p> - -<p>An act of this nature cannot be undertaken without grave thought and -consideration. We affirm that such consideration has been given to this -step.</p> - -<p>It is needless to have fear as to the outcome of this action. No -isolated world can stand against, not only the might, but the moral -judgment of the Confederation. Arms can be used only as a last resort, -but times will come in the history of peoples when they must be so -used, when no other argument is sufficient to force one party to cease -and desist from immoral and unbearable practices.</p> - -<p>In accordance with the laws of the Confederation, no weapons shall be -used which destroy planetary mass.</p> - -<p>In general, Our efforts are directed toward as little blood-shed -as possible. Our aim is to free the unfortunate native beings of -Fruyling's World, and then to begin a campaign of re-education.</p> - -<p>The fate of the human beings who have enslaved these natives shall be -left to the Confederation Courts, which are competent to deal in such -matters by statute of the year forty-seven of the Confederation. We -pledge that We shall not interfere with such dealings by the Courts.</p> - -<p>We may further reassure the peoples of the Confederation that no -further special efforts on their part will be called for. This is not -to be thought of as a war or even as a campaign, but merely as one -isolated, regretted but necessary blow at a system which cannot but be -a shock to the mind of civilized man.</p> - -<p>That blow must be delivered, as We have been advised by Our -Councillors. It shall be delivered.</p> - -<p>The ships, leaving as directed, will approach Fruyling's World, leaving -the FTL embodiments and re-entering the world-line, within ten days. -Full reports will be available within one month.</p> - -<p>In giving this directive, We have been mindful of the future status of -any alien beings on worlds yet to be discovered. We hereby determine, -for ourselves and our successors, that nowhere within reach of the -Confederation may slavery exist, under any circumstances. The heritage -of freedom which We have protected, and which belongs to all peoples, -must be shared by all peoples everywhere, and to that end we direct Our -actions, and Our prayers.</p> - -<p>Given under date of May 21, in the year two hundred and ten of the -Confederation, to be distributed and published everywhere within the -Confederation, under Our hand and seal:</p> - -<p class="ph4">Richard Germont<br /> -by Grace of God Executive<br /> -of the Confederation<br /> -together with<br /> -His Council in judgment assembled<br /> -all members subscribing thereto.</p> -</div> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="c16" id="c16">16</a></h2> - - -<p>The room had no windows.</p> - -<p>There was an air-conditioning duct, but Cadnan did not know what such -a thing was, nor would he have understood without lengthy and tiresome -explanations. He didn't know he needed air to live: he knew only that -the room was dark and that he was alone, boxed in, frightened. He -guessed that somewhere, in another such room, Dara was waiting, just as -frightened as he was, and that guess made him feel worse.</p> - -<p>Somehow, he told himself, he would have to escape. Somehow he would -have to get to Dara and save her from the punishment, so that she did -not feel pain. It was wrong for Dara to feel pain.</p> - -<p>But there was no way of escape. He had crept along the walls, pushing -with his whole body in hopes of some opening. But the walls were metal -and he could not push through metal. He could, in fact, do nothing -at all except sit and wait for the punishment he knew was coming. He -was sure, now, that it would be the great punishment, that he and -Dara would be dead and no more. And perhaps, for his disobedience, he -deserved death.</p> - -<p>But Dara could not die.</p> - -<p>He heard himself say her name, but his voice sounded strange and he -barely recognized it. It seemed to be blotted up by the darkness. And -after that, for a long time, he said nothing at all.</p> - -<p>He thought suddenly of old Gornom, and of Puna. They had said there -was an obedience in all things. The slaves obeyed, the masters obeyed, -the trees obeyed. And, possibly, the chain of obedience, if not -already broken by Marvor's escape and what he and Dara had tried to -do, extended also to the walls of his dark room. For a long time he -considered what that might mean.</p> - -<p>If the walls obeyed, he might be able to tell them to go. They would -move and he could leave and find Dara. Since it would not be for -himself but for Dara, such a command might not count as an escape: the -chain of obedience might work for him.</p> - -<p>This complicated chain of reasoning occupied him for an agonized time -before he finally determined to put it to the test. But, when he did, -the walls did not move. The door, which he tried as soon as it occurred -to him to do so, didn't move either. With a land of terror he told -himself that the chain of obedience had been broken.</p> - -<p>That thought was too terrible for him to contemplate for long, and -he began to change it, little by little, in his mind. Perhaps (for -instance) the chain was only broken for him and for Marvor: perhaps it -still worked as well as ever for all those who still obeyed the rules. -That was better: it kept the world whole, and sane, and reasonable. But -along with it came the picture of Gornom, watching small Cadnan sadly. -Cadnan felt a weight press down on him, and grow, and grow.</p> - -<p>He tried the walls and the door again, almost mechanically. He felt his -way around the room. There was nothing he could do. But that idea would -not stay in his mind: there had to be something, and he had to find -it. In a few seconds, he told himself, he would find it. He tried the -walls again. He was beginning to shiver. In a few seconds, only a few -seconds, he would find the way, and then....</p> - -<p>The door opened, and he whirled and stared at it. The sudden light -hurt his eye, but he closed it for no more than a second. As soon as -he could he opened it again, and stood, too unsure of himself to move, -watching the master framed in the doorway. It was the one who was -called Dodd.</p> - -<p>Dodd stared back for what seemed a long time. Cadnan said nothing, -waiting and wondering.</p> - -<p>"It's all right," the master said at last. "You don't have to be -afraid, Cadnan. I'm not going to hurt you." He looked sadly at the -slave, but Cadnan ignored the look: there was no room in him for more -guilt.</p> - -<p>"I am not afraid," he said. He thought of going past Dodd to find Dara, -but perhaps Dodd had come to bring him to her. Perhaps Dodd knew where -she was. He questioned the master with Dara's name.</p> - -<p>"The female?" Dodd asked. "She's all right. She's in another room, just -like this one. A solitary room."</p> - -<p>Cadnan shook his head. "She must not stay there."</p> - -<p>"You don't have to worry," Dodd said. "Nobody's doing anything to her. -Not right now, anyhow. I—not right now."</p> - -<p>"She must escape," Cadnan said, and Dodd's sadness appeared to grow. He -pushed at the air as if he were trying to move it all away.</p> - -<p>"She can't." His hands fell to his sides. "Neither can you, Cadnan. -I'm—look, there's a guard stationed right down the corridor, watching -this door every second I'm here. There are electronic networks in the -door itself, so that if you manage somehow to open it there'll be an -alarm." He paused, and began again, more slowly. "If you go past me, -or if you get the door open, the noise will start again. You won't get -fifteen feet."</p> - -<p>Cadnan understood some of the speech, and ignored the rest: it wasn't -important. Only one thing was important: "She can not die."</p> - -<p>Dodd shook his head. "I'm sorry," he said flatly. "There's nothing -I can do." A silence fell and, after a time, he broke it. "Cadnan, -you've really messed things up. I know you're right—anybody knows it. -Slavery—slavery is—well, look, whatever it is, the trouble is it's -necessary. Here and now. Without you, without your people, we couldn't -last on this world. We need you, Cadnan, whether it's right or not: and -that has to come first."</p> - -<p>Cadnan frowned. "I do not understand," he said.</p> - -<p>"Doesn't matter," Dodd told him. "I can understand how you feel. We've -treated you—pretty badly, I guess. Pretty badly." He looked away with -what seemed nervousness. But there was nothing to see outside the door, -nothing but the corridor light that spilled in and framed him.</p> - -<p>"No," Cadnan said earnestly, still puzzled. "Masters are good. It is -true. Masters are always good."</p> - -<p>"You don't have to be afraid of me," Dodd said, still looking away. -"Nothing I could do could hurt you now—even if I wanted to hurt you. -And I don't, Cadnan. You know I don't."</p> - -<p>"I am not afraid," Cadnan said. "I speak the truth, no more. Masters -are good: it is a great truth."</p> - -<p>Dodd turned to face him. "But you tried to escape."</p> - -<p>Cadnan nodded. "Dara can not die," he said in a reasonable tone. "She -would not go without me."</p> - -<p>"Die?" Dodd asked, and then: "Oh. I see. The other—"</p> - -<p>There was a long silence. Cadnan watched Dodd calmly. Dodd had turned -again to stare out into the hallway, his hands nervously moving at his -sides. Cadnan thought again of going past him, but then Dodd turned and -spoke, his head low.</p> - -<p>"I've got to tell you," he said. "I came here—I don't know why, but -maybe I just came to tell you what's happening."</p> - -<p>Cadnan nodded. "Tell me," he said, very calmly.</p> - -<p>Dodd said: "I—" and then stopped. He reached for the door, held it -for a second without closing it, and then, briefly, shook his head. -"You're going to die," he said in an even, almost inhuman tone. "You're -both going to die. For trying to escape. And the whole of your—clan, -or family, or whatever that is—they're going to die with you. All -of them." It was coming out in a single rush: Dodd's eyes fluttered -closed. "It's my fault. It's our fault. We did it. We...."</p> - -<p>And the rush stopped. Cadnan waited for a second, but there was no -more. "Dara is not to die," he said.</p> - -<p>Dodd sighed heavily, his eyes still closed. "I'm—sorry," he said -slowly. "It's a silly thing to say: I'm sorry. I wish there was -something I could do." He paused. "But there isn't. I wish—never -mind. It doesn't matter. But you understand, don't you? You understand?"</p> - -<p>Cadnan had room for only one thought, the most daring of his entire -life. "You must get Dara away."</p> - -<p>"I can't," Dodd said, unmoving.</p> - -<p>Cadnan peered at him, half-fearfully. "You are a master." One did not -give orders to masters, or argue with them.</p> - -<p>But Dodd did not reach for punishment. "I can't," he said again. "If I -help Dara, it's the jungle for me, or worse. And I can't live there. I -need what's here. It's a matter of—a matter of necessity. Understand?" -His eyes opened, bright and blind. "It's a matter of necessity," he -said. "It has to be that way, and that's all."</p> - -<p>Cadnan stared at him for a long second. He thought of Dara, thought of -the punishment to come. The master had said there was nothing to do: -but that thought was insupportable. There had to be something. There -had to be a way....</p> - -<p>There was a way.</p> - -<p>Shouting: "Dara!" he found himself in the corridor, somehow having -pushed past Dodd. He stood, turning, and saw another master with a -punishment tube. Everything was still: there was no time for anything -to move in.</p> - -<p>He never knew if the tube had done it, or if Dodd had hit him from -behind. Very suddenly, he knew nothing at all, and the world was blank, -black, and distant. If time passed he knew nothing about it.</p> - -<p>When he woke again he was alone again: he was back in the dark and -solitary room.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="c17" id="c17">17</a></h2> - - -<p>The office was dim now, at evening, but the figure behind the desk was -rigid and unchanging, and the voice as singular as ever. "Do what you -will," Dr. Haenlingen said. "I have always viewed love as the final -aberration: it is the trap which lies in wait for the unwary sane. But -no aberration is important, any more...."</p> - -<p>"I'm trying to help him—" Norma began.</p> - -<p>"You can't help him, child," Dr. Haenlingen said. Her eyes were closed: -she looked as if she were preparing, at last, for death. "You feel too -closely for him: you can't see him clearly enough to know what help he -needs."</p> - -<p>"But I've got to—"</p> - -<p>"Nothing is predicated on necessity but action," Dr. Haenlingen said. -"Certainly not success."</p> - -<p>Norma went to the desk, leaned over it, looking down into the still, -blank face. "It's too soon to give up," she said tensely. "You're just -backing down, and there's no need for that yet—"</p> - -<p>"You think not?" The face was still.</p> - -<p>"There are lots of rumors, that's true," Norma said. "But—even if the -worst comes to the worst—we have time. They aren't here yet. We can -prepare—"</p> - -<p>"Of course," the voice said. "We can prepare—as I am doing. There is -nothing else for us, not any more. Idealism has taken over, and what we -are and what we've done can go right on down the drain. Norma, you're -a bright girl—"</p> - -<p>"Too bright to sit around and do nothing!"</p> - -<p>"But you don't understand this. Maybe you will, some day. Maybe I'll -have a chance—but that's for later. Not now."</p> - -<p>Norma almost reached forward to shake some sense into the old woman. -But she was Dr. Haenlingen, after all—</p> - -<p>Norma's hand drew back again. "You can't just sit back and wait for -them to come!"</p> - -<p>"There is nothing else to do." The words were flat, echoless.</p> - -<p>"Besides," Norma said desperately, "they're only rumors—"</p> - -<p>She never finished her sentence. The blast rocked the room, and the -window thrummed, steadied and then suddenly tinkled into pieces on the -carpeted floor.</p> - -<p>Norma was standing erect. "What's that?"</p> - -<p>Dr. Haenlingen had barely moved. The eyes, in dimness, were open now. -"That, my dear," the old woman said, "was your rumor."</p> - -<p>"My—"</p> - -<p>The blast was repeated. Ornaments on the desk rattled, a picture came -off the far wall and thudded to the carpet. The air was filled with a -fine dust and, far below, Norma could hear noise, a babel of voices....</p> - -<p>"They're here!" she screamed.</p> - -<p>Dr. Haenlingen sat very still, saying nothing. The eyes watched, but -the voice made no comment. The hands were still, flat on the desk. -Below, the voices continued: and then Dr. Haenlingen spoke.</p> - -<p>"You'd better go," the calm voice said. "There will be others needing -help—and you will be safer underground, in any case."</p> - -<p>"But you—" Norma began.</p> - -<p>"I may be lucky," Dr. Haenlingen said. "One of their bombs may actually -kill me."</p> - -<p>Her mouth open in an unreasoning accession of horror, Norma turned and -fled. The third blast rattled the corridor as she ran crazily along it.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="c18" id="c18">18</a></h2> - - -<p>Dodd stayed on his post because he had to: as a matter of fact, he -hardly thought of leaving, or of doing anything at all. Minutes passed, -and he stood in the hallway, quite alone. The other guard had spoken to -him when Cadnan had been picked up and tossed back into solitary, but -Dodd hadn't answered, and the guard had gone back to his own post. Dodd -stood, hardly thinking, and waiting—though he could not have said what -for.</p> - -<p><i>This is the end.</i> He had hit Cadnan: in those few seconds he had acted -just as a good slaver was supposed to act. And that discovery shocked -him: even more than his response during the attempted escape, it showed -him what he had become.</p> - -<p>He had thought the words he used had some meaning. Now he knew they had -next to none: they were only catch-phrases, meant to make him feel a -little better. He was a slaver, he had been trained as a slaver, and he -would remain a slaver. What was it Norma had said?</p> - -<p>"You'd rather live...."</p> - -<p>It was true, it was all true. But there was (he told himself dimly) -still, somewhere, hope: the Confederation would come. When they did, he -would die. He would die at last. And death was good, death was what he -wanted....</p> - -<p>No matter what Norma had told him, death was what he wanted.</p> - -<p>He was still standing, those few thoughts expanding and filling his -mind like water in a sponge, when the building, quite without warning, -shook itself.</p> - -<p>He heard the guard at the end of the corridor shouting. The building -shook again, underneath and around him, dancing for a second like a man -having a fit. Then he caught the first sounds of the bombardment.</p> - -<p>"Norma!" He heard himself scream that one word over the sounds of blast -and shout, and then he was out of the corridor, somehow, insanely, -running across open ground. Behind him the alarms attached to the front -doors of Building Three went off, but he hardly heard that slight -addition to the uproar. God alone knew whether the elevators would be -working ... but they had to be, they had to stand up. After he found -Building One (he could hardly trust the basement levels, choked by -panic-stricken personnel from everywhere) he had to get an elevator and -find Norma.... He had to find Norma.</p> - -<p>Overhead there was a flash and a dull roar. Dodd stared before him at -a tangled, smoking mass of blackness. A second before, it had been a -fringe of forest. Smoke coiled round toward him and he turned and ran -for the side of Building Three. There were other sounds behind him, -screams, shouts....</p> - -<p>As he passed the Building the ground shook again and there was a -sudden rise in the chorus of screams. He smelled acrid smoke, but -never thought of stopping: the Building still stood gleaming in the -bombardment flashes, and he went round the corner, behind it, and found -himself facing the dark masses of One and Two, five hundred feet away -over open ground.</p> - -<p>As he watched there was a flash too bright for his eyes: he blinked and -turned away, gasping. When he could look again a piece of Building Two -was gone—looking, from five hundred feet distance, as if it had been -bitten cleanly from the top, taking about four floors from the right -side, taking the topmast, girders, and all ... simply gone.</p> - -<p>But that was Building Two, not Building One. Norma was still safe.</p> - -<p>She had to be safe. He heaved in a breath of smoky air, and ran.</p> - -<p>Behind him, around him, the bombardment continued.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p class="ph3">PUBLIC OPINION FIVE</p> - -<p>Being an excerpt from Chapter Seven of <i>A Fourth Grade Reader in -Confederation History</i>, by Dr. A. Lindell Jones, with the assistance -of Mary Beth Wilkinson, published in New York, U. S. A., Earth in -September of the year one hundred and ninety-nine of the Confederation -and approved for use in the public schools by the Board of Education -(United) of the U. S. A., Earth, in January of the year two hundred of -the Confederation.</p></div> - -<div class="blockquot2"> -<p>... The first explorers on Fruyling's World named the new planet after -the heroic captain of their ship, and prepared long reports on the -planet for the scientists back home in the Confederation. The reports -mentioned large metallic deposits, and this rapidly became important -news.</p> - -<p>The metallic deposits were badly needed by the Confederation for making -many of the things which still are found in your homes: such useful -objects as cleaners, whirlostats and such all require metal from -Fruyling's World.</p> - -<p>Of course, there were not many explorers on the new planet, and it was -a hard job for them to dig out the metal the Confederation needed.</p> - -<p>But the planet had natives on it already. The natives were called -Alberts, and here is a picture of them. Aren't they funny-looking?</p> - -<p>The Alberts were happy to help with the digging in exchange for some of -the good things the explorers talked about, because they didn't have -many good things. But the explorers built houses for them and gave them -food and taught them English, and the Alberts dug in the ground and -helped get the metal ready to ship back to the Confederation.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>... The following list of Review Questions may be helpful to the -instructor:</p> - -<p>1. Why is Fruyling's World called by that name? After whom was it named?</p> - -<p>2. What is so valuable about Fruyling's World?</p> - -<p>3. Who helps the explorers dig up the metal?</p> - -<p>4. Why do they help?</p></div> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="c19" id="c19">19</a></h2> - - -<p>For Cadnan, the time passed slowly.</p> - -<p>Consciousness came back, along with a thudding ache in the head and a -growing hunger: but there were no leaves on the smooth metal of the -floor, and the demands of his body had to be ignored. His mind began to -drift: once he heard a voice, but when he told himself that the voice -was not real, it went away. He found his hands moving as if he were -pushing the buttons of his job. He stopped them and in a second they -were moving again.</p> - -<p>Then the room itself began to shake.</p> - -<p>Cadnan had no doubts of his sanity: this was different from the -imaginary voice. The room shook again and he wondered whether this were -some new sort of punishment. But it did not hurt him.</p> - -<p>The rumbling sound of the bombardment came to him only dimly, and for -brief seconds. To Cadnan, it sounded like a great machine, and he -wondered about that, too, but he could find no answers.</p> - -<p>The rumbling came again, and sounded nearer. Cadnan thought of machines -shaking his small room, perhaps making it hot as the machines made -metal hot. If that happened, he knew, he would die.</p> - -<p>He called: "Dara." It was hard to hear his own voice. There was no -answer, and he had expected none: but he had had to call.</p> - -<p>The rumbling came again. Surely, he told himself, this was a new -punishment, and it was death.</p> - -<p>There was only one thing for him to do. He sat crosslegged on the -smooth floor as the rumble and the other sounds continued, and in -opposition to them he made his song, chanting in a loud and even voice. -He had learned that a song was to be made when facing death: he had -learned that in the birth huts, and he did not question it.</p> - -<p>The song was necessary, and his voice, carrying over the sounds that -filtered through to him, was clear and strong.</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">"I am Cadnan,</div> -<div class="verse">I am Cadnan of Bent Line Tree,</div> -<div class="verse">I work for the masters,</div> -<div class="verse">I push buttons and the machine obeys me,</div> -<div class="verse">I push buttons when the masters say to do it.</div> -<div class="verse">My song is short. I am near the dead.</div> -<div class="verse">I have broken the chain, the chain of obedience.</div> -<div class="verse">I do not want to break this chain.</div> -<div class="verse">I must break it. Dara says I go.</div> -<div class="verse">If I do not go then Dara does not go.</div> -<div class="verse">Dara must go. I break the chain.</div> -<div class="verse">For this I am near the dead and the room shakes.</div> -<div class="verse">It is my death and my song.</div> -<div class="verse">I am Cadnan and Bent Line Tree and I work."</div> -</div></div> - -<p>After the song was over, he remained sitting, waiting for what had to -come. The rumbling continued, and the room shook more strongly. For -some seconds he waited, and then he was standing erect, because he -could see.</p> - -<p>The door, sprung from its lock by the shaking of the building, had -fallen a little open. As Cadnan watched, it opened a bit more, and he -went and pushed at it. Under a very light shove, it swung fully open, -and the corridor, lights flickering down its length, stood visible. As -Cadnan peered out, the lights blinked off, and then came on again.</p> - -<p>The rumbling was very loud now, but he saw no machines. He went into -the corridor in a kind of curious daze: there were no masters anywhere, -none to watch or hurt him. He called once more for Dara, but now he -could not hear himself at all: the rumbling was only one of the sounds -that battered at him dizzily. There were bells and buzzes, shrieks and -cascades of brutal, grinding sounds more powerful than could be made by -any machine Cadnan could imagine.</p> - -<p>He started down the corridor: the masters had taken Dara in that -direction, opposite to his own. Suddenly, one of his own kind stood -before him, and he recognized a female, Hortat, through the dusty air. -Hortat was staring at him with a frozen expression in her eye.</p> - -<p>"What is it?" she asked. "What happens?"</p> - -<p>Cadnan, without brutality, brushed her aside. "I do not know. The -masters know. Wait and they tell you." He did not consider whether -the statement were true, or false, or perhaps (under these new -circumstances) entirely meaningless: it was a noise he had to make in -order to get Hortat out of his way. She stood against the corridor wall -as he passed, watching him.</p> - -<p>He went on past her, moving faster now, into the central room from -which corridors radiated. The lights went off again and then came on: -he peered round but there were no masters. Besides, he thought, if the -masters found him the worst they could do would be to kill him, and -that was unimportant now: he already had his song.</p> - -<p>In a corridor at the opposite side of the central room he saw a knot -of Alberts, among whom he recognized only Puna. The elder was speaking -with some others, apparently trying to calm them. Cadnan pushed his way -to Puna's side and heard the talk die down, while all stared at the -audacious newcomer.</p> - -<p>"I am looking for Dara," Cadnan said loudly, to be heard over the -continuous noise from elsewhere.</p> - -<p>Puna said: "I do not know Dara," and turned away. Another shouted:</p> - -<p>"Where are the masters? Where is work?"</p> - -<p>Cadnan shouted: "Wait for the masters," and went on, pushing his way -through the noise, through the babbling crowd of Alberts. There were no -masters visible anywhere: that was a new thing and a strange one, but -too many new things were happening. Cadnan barely noticed one more.</p> - -<p>At the front of his mind now was only the thought of Dara. Behind that -was a vague, nagging fear that he was the cause of all the rumbling and -shaking of the building, and all else, by his breaking of the chain of -obedience. Now, he told himself, the buildings even did not obey.</p> - -<p>Then he heard a voice say: "Cadnan," and all other thought fled. The -voice was hers, Dara's. He saw her, ahead, and went to her quickly.</p> - -<p>She had not been hurt.</p> - -<p>That fact sent a wave of relief through him, a wave so strong that for -a second he could barely stand.</p> - -<p>"The door opens," she said when he had reached her, in a small and -frightened voice. "The masters are not here."</p> - -<p>"They return," Cadnan said, but without complete assurance. In this -barrage of novelty, who could make any statement certain?</p> - -<p>Dara nodded. "Then we must go," she said. "If they are not here, then -maybe they do not hear the noise when we open the door: and there is -much noise already to hide it. Maybe they do not see us."</p> - -<p>"And if they do?"</p> - -<p>Dara looked away. "I have my song," she said.</p> - -<p>"And I have mine." It was settled.</p> - -<p>As they headed toward the big front doors others followed, but there -was no use bothering about that. When Cadnan opened the door, in fact, -the others fell back and remained, staring, until it had shut behind -them. There was the great noise of bells and buzzers—but that had been -going on, Cadnan realized, even before they had begun. Outside, the -spot-lights seemed weaker. There was smoke everywhere, and ahead the -forest was a black and frightening mass.</p> - -<p>He looked at Dara, who showed her fear for one instant.</p> - -<p>"I am also afraid," he told her, and was rewarded by a look of -gratitude. "But we must go on." He took her hand.</p> - -<p>They walked slowly into the smoke and the noise. As they reached the -edge of the forest, the sound began to diminish, very slowly; and, -ahead of them, through the haze and beyond the twisted trees, the sun -began to rise.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>They walked for a long while, and by the time they had finally stopped -the noise was gone. There was a haze over everything, but through the -haze a morning sun shone, and a heavy peace hung over the world.</p> - -<p>There were trees, but these were neither like Bent Line Tree, for -mating, nor for food. Perhaps, Cadnan thought, they were for building, -but he did not know, and had no way to know until an elder showed him.</p> - -<p>And there were no elders any more. There were neither elders nor -masters: there was only Cadnan, and Dara—and, somewhere, Marvor and -the group he had spoken of. Cadnan peered round, but he saw no one. -There were small new sounds, and those were frightening, but they were -so tiny—rustles, squeaks, no more—that Cadnan could not feel greatly -frightened by them.</p> - -<p>The green-gray light that filtered through the trees and haze bathed -both Alberts in a glow that enhanced their own bright skin-color. They -stood for a few seconds, listening, and then Dara turned.</p> - -<p>"I know these sounds," she said. "I talk to others in our room, and -some of these work outside. They tell me of these sounds and this -place: it is called a jungle."</p> - -<p>Cadnan made a guess. "The trees make the sound."</p> - -<p>"Small beings make it," Dara corrected him. "There are such small -beings, not slaves and not masters. They have no speech but they make -sound."</p> - -<p>Cadnan meditated on this new fact for a short time. Then Dara spoke -again.</p> - -<p>"Where is Marvor? The time of mating is near."</p> - -<p>Cadnan saw her meaning. It was necessary to find Bent Line Tree, or -some like it, and advising elders, all before the time of mating. Yet -he did not know how. "Maybe masters come," he suggested hopefully, "and -tell us what to do."</p> - -<p>Dara shook her head. "No. The masters kill us. They do not lead us any -more. Only we lead ourselves."</p> - -<p>Cadnan thought privately that such an idea was silly, almost too silly -for words: how could a person lead himself? But he said nothing to -Dara, not wanting to hurt her. Instead, he pretended, helplessly, to -agree with her: "You are right. We lead ourselves now."</p> - -<p>"But we must know where Marvor stays."</p> - -<p>That sounded more reasonable. Cadnan considered it for a minute. -Wherever Marvor was hiding, it had to be somewhere in the jungle. And -so, in order to find him, they had only to walk through it.</p> - -<p>And so they set out—on a walk long enough to serve as an aboriginal -Odyssey for the planet. The night-beasts, soft glowing circles of eyes -and mouths which none of their race had ever seen before: the giant -flesh-eating plants: the herd of bovine monsters which, confused, -stampeded at them, shaking the ground with their tread and making the -feathery trees shake as if there were a hurricane: all this might have -made an epic, had there been anyone to record it. But Cadnan expected -no more and no less: the world was strange. Any piece of it was as -strange as any other.</p> - -<p>Once they came across a grove of food-trees, and ate their fill, but -they saved little to take with them, being unused to doing their own -planning. So they went on, hungry and in the midst of dangers scarcely -recognized, sleeping at night however they could, travelling aimlessly -by day. And after a time that measured about three days they stopped in -a small clearing and heard a voice.</p> - -<p>"Who is there?"</p> - -<p>Cadnan, frightened by the sudden noise, managed to says "I am Cadnan -and there is one with me called Dara. We look for Marvor."</p> - -<p>The strange voice hesitated a second, but its words, when it did speak, -were in a tone that was peaceful enough.</p> - -<p>"I know of Marvor and will take you to him. It is not far to where he -stays."</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="c20" id="c20">20</a></h2> - - -<p>After the first rush of battle, matters began to quiet a little. -Against tremendous odds, and in a few brief hours, the armaments of -Fruyling's World had managed to beat off the Confederation fleets, and -these had withdrawn to reform and to prepare for a new phase of the -engagement.</p> - -<p>In the far-off days before the age of Confederation, war had, perhaps, -been an affair of grinding, constant attack and defense. No one could -say for sure: many records were gone, much had been destroyed. But -now there was waiting, preparation, linked batteries of armaments and -calculators for prediction—and then the brief rush and flurry of -battle, followed by the immense waiting once more.</p> - -<p>For Dodd, it was a time to breathe and to look around. He had enough -work to do: the damage to Building Three, and the confusion among the -Alberts, had to be dealt with, and all knew time was short. Very few -of the Alberts had actually escaped—and most of those, Dodd told -himself bitterly, would die in their own jungles, for lack of knowledge -or preparation. Most, though, simply milled around, waiting for the -masters, wondering and worrying.</p> - -<p>Norma was safe, of course: after a frantic search Dodd had found her -below-ground in the basements of Building One, along with most of -the Psych division. Without present duties forcing them to guard or -maintain the Alberts, the Psych division had holed up almost entire in -the steel corridors that echoed with the dull booms of the battle. -He'd gasped out some statement of relief, and Norma had smiled at him.</p> - -<p>"I knew you'd be safe," she said. "I knew you had to be."</p> - -<p>And of course she was right. Even if what she said had sounded cold, -removed—he had to remember she was under shock, too, the attack had -come unexpectedly on them all. It didn't matter what she said: she was -safe. He was glad of that.</p> - -<p>Of course he was, he thought. Of course he was.</p> - -<p>Even if the things she said, the cold-blooded way she looked at the -world, sometimes bothered him....</p> - -<p>And, a day later, when everyone was picking up the scattered pieces of -the world and attempting, somehow, to rig a new defense, she'd said -more. Not about herself, or about him. Tacitly, they knew all of that -had to wait for a conclusion to the battle. But about the Alberts....</p> - -<p>"Of course they're not disloyal," she told him calmly. "They don't even -know what disloyalty means: we've seen to that. The masters are as -much a part of their world as—as food, I suppose. You don't stage a -rebellion against food, do you?"</p> - -<p>Dodd frowned. "But some of them have escaped."</p> - -<p>"Wandered, you mean. Just wandered off. And—oh, I suppose a few have. -Our methods aren't perfect. But they are pretty good, Johnny: look at -the number of Alberts who simply stayed around."</p> - -<p>"We're making them slaves."</p> - -<p>"No." She shook her head, violently. "Nobody can make a slave. All -we've done is seize an opportunity. Think of our own history, Johnny: -first the clan, or the band—some sort of extended family group. Then, -when real leadership is needed, the slave-and-master relationship."</p> - -<p>"Now, wait a minute," Dodd said. Norma had been brain-washed into some -silly set of slogans: it was his job to break them down. "The clan can -elect leaders—"</p> - -<p>"Sure it can," she said. "But democracy is a civilized commodity, -Johnny—in a primitive society it's a luxury the society can't afford. -What guarantees have you got that the clan will elect the best -possible leader? Or that, having elected him, they'll follow him along -the best paths?"</p> - -<p>"Self-interest—"</p> - -<p>But again she cut him off. "Self-interest is stupid," she said -casually. "A child needs to learn. Schooling is in the best interest of -that child. Agreed?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, but—"</p> - -<p>"Did you ever hear of a child who liked school, Johnny?" she asked. -"Did you ever hear of a child who went to school, regularly, eagerly, -without some sort of force being applied, physical, mental or moral? -No, Johnny, self-interest is short-sighted. Force is all that works."</p> - -<p>"But—" He was sure she was wrong, but he couldn't see where. "Who are -we to play God for them?" he said at last.</p> - -<p>"They need somebody," Norma said. "And we need them. Even."</p> - -<p>She seemed harder now, somehow, more decided. Dodd saw that the one -attack had changed a lot—in Norma, in everyone. Albin, for instance, -wasn't involved with fun any more: he had turned into a fanatical -drill-sergeant, with a squad of Alberts under him, and it was even -rumored that he slept in their quarters.</p> - -<p>And Norma ... what had happened to her? After the fighting was over, -and they could talk again, could relax and reach out for each other -once again....</p> - -<p>She had become so hard....</p> - -<p>One new fear ran through the defenders. The Alberts who had escaped -might return, some said, vowing vengeance against the masters....</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="c21" id="c21">21</a></h2> - - -<p>Cadnan had learned much in a very short time. Everyone was hurried -now, as the time of mating approached more and more quickly and as -the days sped by: knowledge was thrown at Cadnan and at Dara in vast, -indigestible lumps, and they were left to make what they could of it, -while the others went about their normal assigned work.</p> - -<p>He learned about the invasion, for instance—or as much about it as -Marvor, the elders and a few other late arrivals could piece together. -Their explanations made surprisingly good sense, in the main, though -none of them, not even Marvor, could quite comprehend the notion of -masters having masters above them: it appeared contrary to reason.</p> - -<p>Cadnan learned, also, the new trees in this new place, which the elders -had found. There were food trees nearby, and others whose leaves were -meant for building, and there were also trees of mating like his own -Bent Line Tree. No one could tell Cadnan where Bent Line Tree itself -might be: and so he became resigned to his first mating with a new -tree, which the elders had called Great Root Tree. It was not truly -right, he told himself, but there was nothing to do about it.</p> - -<p>The life in the jungle made Cadnan uncomfortable: he was nothing larger -than himself, and he felt very small. When he had masters, he was a -part of something great, of the chain of obedience. But here, in the -jungle, there was no chain (and would the trees obey when their time -came?) and each felt himself alone. It was not good to feel alone, -Cadnan decided; yet, again, there was nothing he could do. It mattered -for a time, and then it ceased to matter.</p> - -<p>The time of mating came closer and closer, and Cadnan felt his own -needs grow with the hours. The sun rose, and fell, and rose again.</p> - -<p>Then the time came.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>It was dark. There were others near them, but they were alone. Cadnan -knew Dara was standing near him in the darkness, though he saw nothing. -He heard her breath coming slowly at first, and then a little faster. -He did not hear his own, but that was no matter. There was a sound from -a small night-animal, but it did not come near. He stood with Dara near -to Great Root Tree: if he put out his hand, he could touch it.</p> - -<p>But he kept his hand at his side. Touching the tree, at that moment, -was wrong. There were the old rules, the true rules, and to think of -them made him feel better.</p> - -<p>Dara said nothing: it was not necessary for her to speak. They knew -each other, and the attraction was very strong. Cadnan had felt the -attraction before, but until that moment he had not known how strong it -was. And then it grew, and grew.</p> - -<p>Still they did not move. Darkness covered both, and there was no more -sound. The very feeling of the presence of others disappeared: there -was nothing but Cadnan, and Dara, and Great Root Tree.</p> - -<p>It called to him, but not to him alone. He knew what he had to do. He -felt the front of his body growing warm and then hot. He felt the first -touch of the liquid.</p> - -<p>He touched Dara: their fronts touched. That alone was more than Cadnan -had ever imagined yet it was not enough. Still there was more he was -called on to do: he did not think about it, or know of it until it was -done. He moved against Dara, as she against him: he was not himself. He -was more and less, he was only the front of his body and he was Great -Root Tree, he was all trees, all worlds....</p> - -<p>When he stepped back it was like dying, but he could not die, since -there was more for him to do. He stood still, very close to Dara, and, -remaining close, he went to the tree. It was not far and both knew the -path, but it seemed far. Cadnan could feel the mixed liquids on his -front, his and Dara's: Great Root Tree seemed to call these liquids to -itself, and himself and Dara with them.</p> - -<p>They walked to it. In the darkness they could not see it, but they knew -the tree: they had spent time knowing it before that night. Cadnan -reached out a slow hand and touched the back of the tree, almost -as smooth as metal, with only minute irregularities throughout its -surface. Once again a long time seemed to pass, but it was not long.</p> - -<p>Then he was against the tree while Dara stood behind, waiting. He -pressed himself against the bark and he felt himself becoming part of -Great Root Tree, becoming the tree itself; and this lasted for all time -and no time, and he was separated from it and saw Dara come to where he -had pressed, and move delicately and then fiercely upon the bark; then -he saw nothing but heard her breathing faster and faster, and all sound -stopped ... there was a long silence ... and then her breathing began -again, very slowly, very slowly.</p> - -<p>She returned to Cadnan and took his hand. It was finished. Soon the -tree would bud with the results of the liquids rubbed on it: after -that, there would be small ones, and Cadnan would be an elder. All -of this was in the future and it was very dim in Cadnan's mind, but -everything was dim: he lay on the ground and Dara lay near him, both -very tired, too tired to think of anything, and he felt himself shaking -for a time and his breath hissed in and out until the shaking stopped.</p> - -<p>Dara, too, was quiet at last. The darkness had not changed. There was -no sound, and no motion.</p> - -<p>It was over.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="c22" id="c22">22</a></h2> - - -<p>When the Confederation forces reformed, they came on with a crash. Dodd -had heard for months that Fruyling's World could never stand up to a -real assault: he had even thought he believed it. But the first attack -had bolstered his gloomy confidence, and the results of the second came -not only as a surprise but as a naked shock.</p> - -<p>The Alberts in spite of a few fearful masters, had been issued Belbis -tubes and fought valiantly with them; the batteries did everything -expected of them, and the sky was lit with supernal flashes of blinding -color throughout one hard-fought night. Dodd himself, carrying a huge -Belbis beam, braced himself against the outer wall of Building One and -played the beam like a hose on any evidence of Confederation ships up -there in the lightning-lit sky: he felt only like a robot, doing an -assigned and meaningless job, and it was only later that he realized he -had been shivering all the time he had used the killing beam. As far as -he could tell he had hit nothing at all.</p> - -<p>The battle raged for six hours, and by its end Dodd was half-deafened -by the sound and half-blinded by the sporadic rainbow flashes that -meant a hit or a miss or a return-blow, lancing down from the ships to -shake buildings and ground. At first he had thought of Norma, safe in -the bunkers below Building One. Then she had left his mind entirely and -there was only the battle, the beginning of all things and the end -(only the battle and the four constant words in his mind): even when -the others began to retreat and Dodd heard the shouted orders he never -moved. His hands were frozen to the Belbis beam, his ears heard only -battle and his eyes saw only the shining results of his own firing.</p> - -<p>There was a familiar voice—Albin's: "... get out while you've got a -chance—it's over...."</p> - -<p>Another voice: "... better surrender than get killed...."</p> - -<p>The howls of a squad of Alberts as a beam lanced over them, touching -them only glancingly, not killing but only subjecting them to an -instant of "punishment"; and the howls ceased, swallowed up in the -greater noise.</p> - -<p>A voice: "... Johnny...."</p> - -<p>It meant nothing. Dodd no longer knew he had a name: he was only -an extension of his beam, firing with hypnotized savagery into the -limitless dark.</p> - -<p>"Johnny...."</p> - -<p>He heard his own voice answering. "Get back to the bunker. You'll be -safe in the bunker. Leave me alone." His voice was strange to his ears, -like an echo of the blasts themselves, rough and loud.</p> - -<p>Dawn was beginning to color the sky, very slightly. That was good: in -daylight he might be able to see the ships. He would fire the beam and -see the ships die. That was good, though he hardly knew why: he knew -only that it pleased him. He watched the dawn out of a corner of one -eye.</p> - -<p>"Johnny, it's all over, we've lost, it's finished. Johnny, come with -me."</p> - -<p>Norma's voice. But Norma was in the bunker. Norma had caused the -battle: she had made the slaves. Now she was safe while he fought. -The thought flickered over his mind like a beam blast, and sank into -blackness.</p> - -<p>"Johnny, please ... Johnny ... come on, now. Come on. You'll be safe. -You don't want to die...."</p> - -<p>No, of course he didn't. He fired the beam, aimed, fired again, aimed -again. He could die when his enemies were dead. He could die when -everyone who was trying to kill him was dead. Then he could die, or -live: it made no difference.</p> - -<p>He fired again, aimed again, fired....</p> - -<p>"Johnny, please...." The voice distracted him a little. No wonder -he couldn't kill all the ships, with that voice distracting him. -It went on and on: "Johnny, you don't have to die ... you're not -responsible.... Johnny, you aren't a slaver, you just had a job to -do.... Killing isn't the answer, Johnny, death isn't the answer...."</p> - -<p>The voice went on and on, but he tried to ignore it. He had to keep -firing: that was his job, and more than his job. It was his life. It -was all of his life that he had left.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Dr. Haenlingen had told her she was too close to see properly, and, of -course, she was. Perhaps she knew that, in the final seconds. Perhaps -she never did. But that Dodd, who wanted to die and who considered -death the only proper atonement for his life, could have displaced -that wish onto the Confederation, onto his "enemies," and so reached a -precarious and temporary balance, never occurred to her. And if it had, -perhaps she could have done nothing better ... time had run out.</p> - -<p>Time had run out. Johnny Dodd's enemies wanted him dead, and so he had -to kill them (and so avoid killing himself, and so avoid recognizing -how much he himself wanted to be dead). But the balance wasn't -complete. There was still the guilt, still the terrible guilt that made -it <i>right</i> for the Confederation to kill him.</p> - -<p>The guilt had to be displaced, too.</p> - -<p>Norma did what she could, did what she thought right. "You don't have -to die," she told him. "You're not responsible."</p> - -<p>That was what he heard, and it was enough. He hadn't made the Alberts -into slaves. He hadn't made the Alberts into slaves.</p> - -<p>But he knew who had. Long before, it had all been carefully explained -to him. All of the tricks that had been used....</p> - -<p>Of course, Dodd thought. Of course he wasn't responsible.</p> - -<p>He felt an enormous peace descend on him, like a cloak, as he turned -with the beam in his hand and smiled at Norma. She began, tentatively, -to return his smile.</p> - -<p>The beam cut her down where she stood and left a swathe of jungle -behind her black and smoking.</p> - -<p>Dodd, his job completed, dropped the beam. For one instant four words -lit up in his mind, and then everything went out into blankness and -peace. The body remained, the body moved, the body lived, for a time. -But after those four words, blinding and bright and then swallowed up, -Johnny Dodd was gone.</p> - -<p>He had found what he needed.</p> - -<p><i>This is the end.</i></p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p class="ph3">PUBLIC OPINION SIX</p> - -<p>From A Cultural Record of Fruyling's World</p> - -<p>Personal Histories of the Natives (called Alberts)</p> - -<p>As Dictated and Preserved on Tape by Historical Commission HN3-40-9</p> - -<p>Subject (called) Cadnan</p></div> - -<div class="blockquot2"> -<p>... Dara is dead in the returning, when new masters come to us and say -the fighting is over. It is an accident which kills her, a stumble, -they say, against a plant which is dangerous to animal life and to our -kind. The accident is over and Dara is dead, and we return.</p> - -<p>I find Marvor after the fighting, once only, and I ask him what it -is that is so important about this fighting. The Confederation—the -masters we now have—are only masters like the ones we know. Marvor -looks at me with a look as if he, too, is a master.</p> - -<p>"Freedom is that important," he says. "Freedom is the most important -thing."</p> - -<p>I know that Marvor is not right, because I know the most important -thing: it is the dead. For me Dara is most important, and I remember -Puna, who is dead in the fighting: the rest does not matter. I say this -now, knowing that the talk-machine hears me and that the Confederation -hears me.</p> - -<p>I say: "Can freedom make me feel happy?"</p> - -<p>Marvor looks more like a master. "Freedom is good," he says.</p> - -<p>"And yet Dara is dead," I say. "And others are dead. How do I feel -happy when I know this?"</p> - -<p>"In freedom," Marvor tells us, "Dara would be safe, and the others."</p> - -<p>"Yet it is freedom that kills them," I say.</p> - -<p>Marvor says: "Not freedom but the war. The fight against our masters -here, the old masters, to make them give us freedom."</p> - -<p>I say: "Do not our old masters have freedom?"</p> - -<p>"They do," Marvor says, "now."</p> - -<p>This puzzles me. I say: "But they have freedom at all times. They have -what they want, and if freedom is a good, and they want it, then they -have it."</p> - -<p>Marvor says: "It is true. They have freedom for themselves."</p> - -<p>"Yet these other masters tell them what to do," I say, "and fight them -to make them do it. This is not the freedom you tell of."</p> - -<p>Marvor says: "There is a difference."</p> - -<p>I do not see this difference, and he can not tell it to me though he -tries hard. But I think maybe the new masters can tell me what it is. -Marvor is going to what they call a school and I also go. This is a -place where masters tell things, and we must remember them. Remembering -is not hard, but we must think also, and do work. It is not enough to -ask a question and find an answer. It is necessary to find our own -answers.</p> - -<p>A master asks us to count, and then to do things with the numbers we -use in our counting. This is called arithmetic. We must do things with -the numbers every day, and if we do not the masters are not happy with -us. This arithmetic is hard: it is all new. Yet if I do it right I do -not find more food or a better place or any thing I want. I do not see -what is the use of this arithmetic.</p> - -<p>But the use does not matter. The master tells me a use. He says -arithmetic and all of the things in the school raise the cultural -level. I do not know what a cultural level is or if it is good to be -raised. The masters do not care whether I know this. They make me do -what they want me to do.</p> - -<p>And it is not simple like pushing buttons and watching a machine. It -is not simple like all the things I do since I am small Cadnan. It is -hard, very hard, and all the time it is more hard.</p> - -<p>Every day there is a school. Every day there is hard work. Marvor says -that freedom means doing for yourself what you want and deciding right -and wrong. I say freedom is bad because the masters know right and -wrong and we do not. Others say with me: there are some who know the -old truths and think it is better when we, too, can understand right -and wrong.</p> - -<p>But the masters say what we have is freedom. I say it is not so. The -masters tell us what to do: they tell us to do arithmetic, to do all -other school things, and we do not do for ourselves what we want. We do -not do anything for ourselves, but always the masters tell us.</p> - -<p>This is the same as before the fighting. It is always the same. A -master is a master.</p> - -<p>But the old masters were the best. I remember the old masters and the -old work, and I want this time to come again. I want the old work, -which is easy, and not this new work, which is hard. I want the old -slavery, where we know right and wrong, and not the new slavery, where -only the masters know and they say they cannot tell us.</p> - -<p>If I am free, if I can decide for myself what it is that I want, then -this is what I decide.</p> - -<p>I want the old masters back again.</p> - -<p>I, Cadnan, say this.</p></div> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p class="ph3">PUBLIC OPINION SEVEN</p> - -<p>From the speech of Dr. Anna Haenlingen</p> - -<p>Before the High Court (Earth) of the Confederation</p> - -<p>Preparatory to the Passing of Sentence</p></div> - -<div class="blockquot2"> -<p>... The attorneys for the Confederation government have called our -position cynical, and my own attorneys have attempted, without -success, to refute this charge. As head of the Psychological Division -on Fruyling's World previous to the unjustified intervention of -Confederation force in the affairs of that world, I feel it incumbent -on me to define a position which even our own advocates do not seem to -understand.</p> - -<p>I bear a good deal of the responsibility for conditions on Fruyling's -World, and I have not shirked that responsibility. I found the -natives of that world in a condition of slavery, due to the work of -my predecessors. I maintained them in that slavery, and made no move -whatever to free them or to mitigate their status.</p> - -<p>This is, in truth, a cynical position. I do not believe, and I have -never believed, that freedom is necessarily a good for all people at -all times. Like any other quality, it can be used for good or for ill.</p> - -<p>In the contact between any barbarian people and any civilized people, -some species of slavery is necessary. The barbarian does not know -that he is a barbarian, and the only way to convey to him the fact -that he stands at the bottom of a long ladder—a ladder so long -that we have by no means reached its end, and have perhaps not yet -seen its midpoint—is to force him to make contact with elements of -civilization, and to utilize continuous force to keep this contact -alive and viable.</p> - -<p>The alien—the barbarian—will not of himself continue contact in any -meaningful manner. The gap is too great between his life and that -of the civilized person, and a disparity so great becomes, simply, -invisible. Under conditions of equality, the civilized person must -degenerate to barbarian status: his mind can comprehend the barbarian, -and he can move in that direction. The barbarian, incapable of -comprehension of the civilized world, cannot move toward that which he -cannot see.</p> - -<p>In order to bring him into motion, slavery and subjection appear -necessities. There has been no civilization of which we have record -which has not passed through a period of subjection to another, more -forceful civilization: the Greeks, the Romans, the Jews, all the great -civilizations of which there is available record have passed through a -period of slavery. Nor is this accidental.</p> - -<p>Some force must be applied to begin the motion toward civilization. -That force—disguise it how you will—is slavery. It is clearly the -attempt to make another person do what he would not do, does not -wish to do, and sees no personal profit in doing, under threat of -punishment. It is subjection. That subjection is all we mean by slavery.</p> - -<p>And slavery is a necessity.</p> - -<p>Perhaps we were wrong: perhaps the slavery which was dictated to us by -the conditions which prevailed upon Fruyling's World was not the best -sort available. But freedom is not, in any case, the answer. A man may -die as the result of too much oxygen: a culture, likewise, may die of -too much freedom.</p> - -<p>I have no fear of the sentence of this court. My death is unimportant, -and I do not fear it. I might fear that my work be left undone, were I -not certain that, under whatever name, the Confederation will find it -necessary to maintain slavery on Fruyling's World.</p> - -<p>Of this, I am quite sure.</p></div> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p>From the Report of Genmo. Darad Farnung, Commanding Confederation -Expeditionary Force, 3rd Sector From Base of Occupation, Fruyling's -World (NC34157:495:4)</p></div> - -<div class="blockquot2"> -<p>... In the three planetary months (approx. ninety-two Solar days) since -occupation of this world, no serious incidents have been reported. -The previous "rulers" of this world have been transshipped to Earth -for disposal there by Confederation governmental process. With the -introduction of fully automated machinery, the world's primary -resources are being utilized for the good of the Confederation without -the introduction of any form of slavery or forced labor whatever....</p> - -<p>... Regarding education and aid as involving the native population, -the initial shipments of teachers, investigators and experts in -xenopsychology have enabled the occupation force to begin a full -educational program for the benefit of the natives. This program has -been accepted by the natives without delay and without any untoward -incidents, and reports to the contrary are assumed to have been -initiated by disaffected personnel. The program of education in a -democratic and workable form of government for these natives is, and -must remain, one of the shining examples of the liberative effects of -Confederation doctrine and government, and should provide a valuable -precedent in future cases....</p> - -<p>... Reports that the profits of the major business of this world, -since the introduction of automated machinery and experts for the -repair and upkeep thereof, have decreased to the vanishing point should -not be taken as serious: this is assumed to be merely a temporary -hardship due to the transfer workload from the natives to the automated -structure.... Since the only alternative is the placement of the -workload on enslaved natives of this world, the temporary rise in taxes -due to the loss on essential product profit should be taken as a needed -and welcome sacrifice in the name of liberty by the peoples of the -Confederation....</p> - -<p>... A list of further urgent materials, together with a list of -specialties now urgently required in order to maintain full production -here, and a revised schedule of budgetary requirements to include these -additional requisitions, is hereby appended....</p></div> -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/bcover.jpg" width="319" height="500" alt=""/> -</div> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Slave Planet, by Laurence Janifer - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SLAVE PLANET *** - -***** This file should be named 51855-h.htm or 51855-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/1/8/5/51855/ - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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